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| India-Pakistan |
| Obama aide: drone strikes are legal, ethical |
| 2012-05-01 |
[Dawn] US President Barack ObamaI inhaled. That was the point... has ordered more openness about the secretive drone war pounding al Qaeda in Pakistain, a top official said Monday, mounting the firmest defense yet of the program. In a landmark speech on counter-terrorism "ethics", Obama aide John Brennan insisted the program, the source of sharp tensions between Washington and Islamabad, was legal, ethical, proportional and saved US lives. The top counter-terrorism official gave the most detailed justification and description of the drone program yet, on the eve of the anniversary of the killing of al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who was laid out deader than a mackerel... in a raid in Pakistain by elite special forces. US officials have generally been loath to publicly discuss the secretive CIA program, which has seen scores of what the US government says are al Qaeda suspects killed in tribal areas of Pakistain and some other nations. "Broadly speaking, the debate over strikes targeted at individual members of al Qaeda has centered on their legality, their ethics, the wisdom of using them, and the standards by which they are approved," Brennan said. "The United States government conducts targeted strikes against specific al Qaeda terrorists, sometimes using remotely piloted aircraft, often referred to publicly as drones," Brennan said in a speech to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. "I'm here today because President B.O. has instructed us to be more open with the American people about these efforts." Brennan said the strikes had been certified as complying with US law by US Attorney General Eric Inaction JacksonHolder, among other brass hats. "The constitution empowers the president to protect the nation from any imminent threat of attack," Brennan said, adding that Obama's action was also authorized by measures passed by Congress after the September 11 attacks in 2001. He also argued that the strikes were ethical, proportional and conformed to US efforts to spare innocent civilians from being caught up in the crossfire. "It is hard to imagine a tool that can better minimize the risk to civilians than remotely piloted aircraft," Brennan said, in a speech briefly interrupted by a Code Pink anti-war protestor. "There is absolutely nothing casual about the extraordinary care we take in making the decision to pursue an al Qaeda terrorist, and the lengths to which we go to ensure precision and avoid the loss of innocent life." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > LATEST US DRONE STRIKES TORPEDOES REOPENING OF NATO SUPPLY ROUTES | PAKISTAN MAY BOYCOTT CHICAGO SUMMIT [wid US-NATO] + KEEP SUPPLY ROUTES CLOSED. * SAME > PAKISTAN CONDEMNS US DRONE STRIKE - MAY PULL OUT FORM CHICAGO SUMMIT. * DAILY TIMES.PK > SUPPLY ROUTES CLOSURE THREAT TO AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL: PENTAGON. Pakistan's PM Gilani is attempting to moderate the tone + language of the US-Pak rift but by most accounts is unlikely to succeed widout US concessions to Pakistan as per a formal apology + respect for Pak sovereignty. PERTS ARE WARNING THAT ISLAMABAD = PAK GOVT. MAY RETALIATE BY IMLEMENTING MORE HARDLINE RESTRICTIONS/POLICIES AHZ US-NATO SUPPLY MOVEMENTS, E.G. CLOSURE OF PAK AIRSPACE TO US MIL AIR CARGO. IIUC, a more hardline Pakistani counter-response will likely raise the probabilities as per US-led Milaction agz Iran this summer [or by EOY 2012], which IMO is not what the Bammer wants going into the 2012 POTUS Elex Campaign. -------- Also as per the 2012 Elex for the Bammer Team + DemoLeft ... * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PENTAGON REPORT ADMITS US WAS LOSING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. And on POTUS Bammer's watch??? * BHARA RALSHAK > AFGHAN TALIBAN REJECT "SAFE PASSAGE" OFFER FROM US-AFPAK. * SAME > US NAVY SEALS FAKED OSAMA RAID/STUNT - INSIGHT VIEW FROM ISI OFFICIAL | PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL DISCUSSES ABBOTTABAD RAID -TERMINAL X. ARTIC > PAK ISI Official says OBL was already dead for years, + Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a US CIA Asset-Operative. HHHMMMMM, HHHMMMM, wehell, given what I personally know about the relationship or links between KSM + OBL, the PAK ISI Official cannot make such an argument widout directly inferring or implicating that that OBL himself was also CIA. IOW, THE US CIA CONSPIRED OR ALLOWED NYC TO BE ATTACKED BACK ON 9-11, HELPING TO KILL 3000 PEOPLE IN A MAJOR AMERICAN CITY. * DRUDGEREPORT > FED OFFICIALS: US ECONOMY FACING A "FISCAL CLIFF" AT YEAR'S END. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-05-01 23:15 |
| #3 It will certainly make President Romney's life easier because he can quote that... |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-05-01 22:22 |
| #2 Ethics shmethics. This is war, and it's in our interests. The gloves/"rules" are off in a time of war. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-05-01 14:59 |
| #1 Compare wid DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [US-Pak = London Summit] TALKS FAIL- LACK OF APOLOGY [by US] A [sore = key]STICKING POINT FOR PAKISTAN | ...: PAKISTAN STILL WANTS AN APOLOGY, US SAYS "NO". The US is repor also refusing to alter or concede to Pakistan on any of its arguments. VARIOUS = The lack of formal Apology by the US may cause Pakistan to return to its former post-Saalaa hardline, ONLY HARDER + MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE US??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-05-01 00:56 |