Yemeni protesters on the streets of Sanea during an anti-government demonstration in Radfan. Photo: Reuters
Villagers Join Al-Qaeda After Deadly US Strike -- Sydney Morning Herald
DHAMAR, Yemen: A rickety truck packed with 14 people rumbled down a desert road from the town of Radda, which al-Qaeda militants once controlled. Suddenly a missile struck flipping the vehicle over. Then a second missile hit the truck.
Within seconds, 11 of the passengers were dead, including a woman and her seven-year-old daughter. A 12-year-old boy also died that day, and another man later died from his wounds.
The Yemeni government initially said that those killed were al-Qaeda militants and that its own Soviet-era jets carried out the September 2 attack. But last week US officials acknowledged for the first time that it was an American strike and that the victims were civilians.
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My Comment: This is one of those "damn if you do, damn if you don't" situations. For the past few years Al Qaeda in Yemen has plotted (and tried) to carry out terror attacks against the West .... the West in turn had to respond .... hence the civilian casualties. But blow-back is a double edge sword .... Al Qaeda expects us to respond with their attacks, but we in turn must also be ready for their response after we have struck .... including from those who are caught in the crossfire in our conflict with Al Qaeda.
4 comments:
"This is one of those "damn if you do, damn if you don't" situations."
Spoken like a true Republican, and an American...
Thank you D. Plowman for your comment. Just one correction .... current U.S. policy on drone strikes in Yemen and elsewhere comes from the White House .... which is under a Democrat administration not a Republican one .... albeit current U.S. policy is a continuation of the last Republican administration (plus 10x).
So I am now being called a Democrat and an American to boot .... sighhh .... and I though I was a Russian national/Canadian citizen Libertarian leaning free enterprise independent with a slight streak of Quebec nationalism in him.
I'm well aware of the current administration, it would be silly to suggest that Republican/Democratic Policy is so black-n-white and that they don't intermix.
However, your 'damn if you do, damn if you don't' remark is rather republican and distasteful, in my view.
Thank you again for your comment. 'Damn if you do, damn if you don't' is actually (to me) a reflection of my Russian culture and background that regardless of the situation .... only bad will come out from it. And while I hate pessimism .... the war on terror/Al Qaeda/militant/ Islam breeds that sentiment of pessimism .... especially with the realization that there are really no good choices or options.
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