This
super-duper recent article on the Afghani children definately proves what the government considers to be "worth-while sacrifices"
According to several officials, and contrary to previous statements, the U.S. military knew there were children at the compound but considered the target of such high value it was worth the risk of potential collateral damage.
So why the deception? You can never get a straight answer from anyone concerning matters such as this until it's too late. "Abu Laith al Libi, the al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan and a top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden" was supposed to be the target; however, MSNBC says:
The sources report that although six sets of remains besides those of the seven children were recovered, it's not clear whether Abu Laith is among those killed.
I'm sure if it was confirmed that Abu Laith
was actually killed in the air strike that the military wouldn't be needing to explain itself so much. Also, if they had actually killed the top lieutenant, people would feel a hell of a lot better about the whole situation. But is it really for the better that civilian sacrifices were brought into this? War creates difficult moral dilemmas. Was the air strike justifiable? I
might (a very loose might) say yes if the top leader was confirmed killed. Until then, my feeling are in limbo. Your thoughts?
2 comments:
I hate to sound like a hawk here, but I don't think the U.S. military can put its goals on hold in order to save some children. I know it sounds terrible, but if the military does get a chance to kill a high level Al-Qaeda operative, it sure as hell better take that chance. Of course, as you mention, that high level operative may not have been killed, which really wouldn't surprise me, as I have very little faith in our military.
Uh oh! Fz doesn't support the troops!
haha. No, I agree. If there is a chance to kill a high level Al-Qaeda operative, the military will definitely take the chance. I don't really disagree...I just wonder how many times this has happened and we DON'T know about it. And how many more failed operations will we have like this the longer we keep our proverbial anchor to the shore in Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm curious/concerned. We'll see, I guess.
Post a Comment