Posted on 04/23/2015 7:30:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Heartbreaking news, and a demonstration of the limit of remote-control warfare. The US drone program in Pakistan inadvertently killed two Western hostages being held by al-Qaeda, including an American whose family had repeatedly appealed for his release based on his age and health:
A U.S. drone strike in January targeting a suspected al Qaeda compound in Pakistan inadvertently killed an American and Italian being held hostage by the group, senior Obama administration officials said.
The killing of American development expert Warren Weinstein and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto is the first known instance in which the U.S. has accidentally killed a hostage in a drone strike.
The mishap represents a major blow to the Central Intelligence Agency and its covert drone program in Pakistan, which President Barack Obama embraced and expanded after coming to office in 2009.
The incident also underscores the limits of U.S. intelligence and the risk of unintended consequences in executing a targeted killing program which, according to human rights groups, endangers civilians. U.S. officials say the strikes are needed to combat al Qaeda. To mitigate the risks, officials say the CIA won’t launch missiles at a suspected target if they know civilians are present.
The White House released a statement a few moments ago expressing its “tremendous sorrow” over the collateral deaths of the hostages. Obama has declassified the incident in order to allow scrutiny of the operation and its outcomes.
Undoubtedly Congress will want to probe it, but it’s likely not going to result in many changes, except perhaps undermine the value of hostage-taking by terrorists. Whether we admit it or not, drone warfare creates collateral damage, mostly to Pakistanis in that region, which is why it’s so tremendously unpopular. We try to mitigate that, but that only goes so far, and it depends on reliable intelligence — of which we get much less these days, thanks to shrinking footprints in Afghanistan and our exit from Iraq. Drone warfare creates a lot less collateral damage than, say, shock and awe campaigns, but war is war and it’s impossible to get strikes so surgical that it doesn’t impact non-combatants when the terrorists hide and operate among non-combatants. In fact, that’s their entire purpose of doing so — to keep Western militaries from being able to bring force to bear against them.
The White House also announced that drone strikes had inadvertently killed two Americans working for al-Qaeda, including one infamous propagandist, Adam Gadahn:
We also believe two other Americans were recently killed in U.S. Government counterterrorism operations in the same region. We have concluded that Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al-Qa’ida leader, was killed in the same operation that resulted in the deaths of Dr. Weinstein and Mr. Lo Porto. We have also concluded that Adam Gadahn, an American who became a prominent member of al-Qa’ida, was killed in January, likely in a separate U.S. Government counterterrorism operation. While both Farouq and Gadahn were al-Qa’ida members, neither was specifically targeted, and we did not have information indicating their presence at the sites of these operations.
We hadn’t heard much from Gadahn over the last few years. Supposedly, he fell out of favor with AQ leadership and got relegated to lower-echelon duties, but Gadahn never gave up his war against his country. That’s one score settled, however inadvertently it might have been accomplished.
Obama will speak live at 10 am. Watch it here:
Think busted military helicopters in the Iranian desert circa April 1980.
Remember, Obama personally approves drone strikes. And it has been reported that he takes great enjoyment from them.
Interesting... the Gadahn droning was back in January but this article says the hostages were killed “recently” with al Farouk was nailed.
Other articles are reporting the hostages were killed in January.
BHO = Jimmy Carter x 100
have to wonder if obama’s objective was to kill the hostages and protect the terrorists...
They are distracting from the Clinton money trail and the sellout of America, US uranium being taken over by Russia and NOW being sold to Iran by the Russians ALL being done at the SAME time talks going on with Iran for NO NUKES!!!! TRAITORS all of them!!!!!!! Our country be damned they ALL just line their pockets!!!!!!
Interesting... the Gadahn droning was back in January but this article says the hostages were killed “recently” with al Farouk was nailed.
Other articles are reporting the hostages were killed in January.
And the radio reported the hostages were killed in a special forces rescue attempt, not a drone strike.
Maybe that’s what the Theodore Roosevelt was sent for, not just for Yemen’s situation.
Very likely, especially when they’re declassifying self-incriminating facts.
Damage control before the New York Times writes an article about a 72 year old “American Development worker” and digs deeper...
“Knowing this administration, odds are, no.”
Looks like it was pretty convenient, though, reason enough for the Fraud to hit the links after the announcement like he usually does to celebrate American deaths...
The White House revealed that two Americans working with Al Qaeda were killed as well. Ahmed Farouq, an American Al Qaeda leader, was killed in the same operation in which the hostages died. American-born Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn was killed in January in a separate incident, according to the White House.
What are you implying, someone in our government would
WAG THE DOG?
This occurred in January. Why are we learning about it now? Was it because the Wall Street Journal was about to report that it indeed occurred that the administration is now trying to get in front of the story? Was it their intention never to divulge that it occurred?
Anyone who is held hostage by the jihad should be treated, from the point of view of US military operations, as if they are already dead.
If they get rescued, good. I'm all for that.
But if they get killed while we are turning jihadis into crispy critters? Karma. So it goes. Xin loy, minoy (there's a blast from the past!).
“Why announce this now ,what are they trying to DISTRACT from ?”
My guess is the story was going to break, possibly foreign press. That and 3 months of getting everyone on board with the official story which is “Obama didn’t personally order the strike” Yep, President “KILL LIST” didn’t make the call. /s
Reread it... the hostages were killed “recently” while the successful Gadahn strike was back in January.
Apparently, if the article is correct, it is indeed an effort to get in front of the clusterfoxtrot... by putting lipstick from January on the “recent” deaths of the hostages.
On the other hand they just drew my attention to January and what do I find? The Obama admin hosting more Muslim Brotherhood terrorists in a meeting about trying to oust Egypt’s anti-terrorist al Sisi from power.
“Drone warfare creates a lot less collateral damage than, say, shock and awe campaigns”
I call BS on the blame Bush rhetoric for starts. Beyond that, all air and space based options are of limited effect. You can play whack-a-mole forever, but you ever notice how you never run out of moles? Such campaigns make for nice presentations, but there is no substitute for HUMINT and an on-the-ground presence.
yeah, to novice like me it seems air power is all you need to win. wish someone could explain why it isn’t
Unlimited air warfare would be a different story. We have the capability to sterilize any part of the earth—guaranteed to stop all terrorists in any given location. Of course, everyone else would also be dead, and we would be worse than the terrorists.
US policy is a proportional response—we aren’t going to nuke a country until they have either killed hundreds of thousands, or are in the process of doing so. Google asymmetric warfare for more info on current warfare.
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