US Bombs English Town: 18 Dead
This just in from Voice of America:
U.S. news reports Tuesday said a U.S. missile attack in eastern England last week killed three known leaders of the al-Qaida terrorist network, including one who was a master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert.
ABC News reported Wednesday that English authorities identified one of the dead as Midhat Mursi, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, who is believed to have run al-Qaida's Derunta training camp. The United States had posted a five million-dollar reward for his capture.
At least 18 people, including civilians, were killed in the bombing.
The report comes as English Prime Minister Tony Blair begins a six-day visit to the United States that includes a meeting with President Bush.
On Tuesday, Mr. Blair said England cannot accept such military strikes on its territory, and said he will raise the issue with U.S. officials.
Ok, I admit to fixing the facts of this story. But I'd be willing to wager that in the brief moment it took you to realize the bombing took place in Pakistan, not England, you were shocked — more than you were when the story of the actual bombing in Pakistan broke.
I have to wonder — if these same three dangerous men were thought to be in a home in, say, Maidstone, England, or London, or Boston, for that matter, would we still have bombed the place, civilians be damned?
The very idea is absurd, out of the question. Why is it not so for Pakistan?
An emotional editorial in a Pakistani daily paper expressed the outrage of the Pakistani people, not only over the loss of life itself, but over the arrogance that allowed it to happen:
[I]t is not American lives alone that are precious in this world. The people of this country are not children of a lesser god. Their lives are just as priceless.
Do we really need to be reminded of this? What is happening to us?
Comments
Apparently we DO need to be reminded. But just because we've been reminded doesn't mean we're ever gonna give a shit.
Posted by: Neil Shakespeare | January 19, 2006 03:38 AM
There was a time, not so long ago, that I didn't feel constantly ashamed to wear the label "American". Sadly, five years of the reign of George the Younger have made that time only a distant memory.
It flabbergasts me that there is not a great surge of public outrage over the U.S. missile attack. Even Dems have become apologists for our actions, citing the "success" of eliminating three or four "high level" (yeah, right!) al Qaeda operatives as if that makes everything OK.
There's no other word to use than "shameful."
Posted by: BobP | January 21, 2006 11:49 AM