“We know violence isn’t the answer. When we take up our arms, we’re talking about our votes.” – Sarah Palin
Violence is not the answer—so says Sarah Palin (R), the proud “mother of a soldier” and supporter of the “War on Terror,” while sitting against a backdrop of an American flag.[1][2] The recent shooting of 19 people in Tucson by a disturbed individual on January 8, 2011 led to the usual political platitudes and a renewed call for more regulation of the mob. Congressman Robert Brady (D) said:
"The president is a federal official, you can't do it to him; you should not be able to do it to a congressman, senator, or federal judge."[3]
In the Tucson shooting, six were murdered and 13 wounded. Survivors and first responders described blood everywhere at the scene. The horror and loss of innocent lives shocked Americans. It wouldn’t have shocked victims of the US government’s “War on Terror”:
- Mohammed Kinani, who opened a car door to see the brains of his nine-year-old son, Ali Kinani, fall between his feet after the Nisoor Square massacre in Baghdad, where 17 were murdered and over 20 wounded by US-employed Blackwater mercenaries in 2007.[4]
- The thousands of civilian residents of Fallujah, Iraq, who suffered through two US-led assaults in 2004 that included shelling with white phosporous. The November 2004 assault was preceded by eight weeks of aerial bombardment, during which civilians were not allowed to leave the city.[5]
- The man in the picture which shows US smart bombs aren’t as smart as our leaders would have us think.
A Young Girl is an Innocent Victim of US bombing of Basra, Iraq 2003 During the Bush administration
Lessening Violence in the Future…Except Overseas
“So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.” - President Obama, January 12, 2011 eulogy for Tucson victims [6]
In the first two years of the Obama (D) administration, the US government increased missile attacks in Pakistan. According to a Pakistani group monitoring news reports of missile attacks (pdf), over 100 US missile attacks in Pakistan in 2010 targeted “militants,” but killed over 900 civilians.[7] According to Daniel Byman, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, for every “militant” killed, “10 or so civilians also died.”[8]
While our political leaders mouth words eschewing violence, their audience—the American people—may have missed the following news stories where our political leaders’ actions indicate a different philosophy in Afghanistan and Pakistan:
- On December 17, 2010, US missiles killed 54 people in northwest Pakistan according to Pakistani officials. “US officials do not acknowledge firing the missiles, much less comment on whom they are targeting. It is impossible to independently report on the aftermath of the attacks because outsiders are not allowed to visit the tribal regions. Human rights groups say there are significant numbers of civilian casualties in the attacks.”[9]
- On December 27, 2010, US missiles killed 25 people and injured four in Pakistan.[10]
- On January 12, 2011, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) commented on Afghanistan: "As difficult as it may be to accept, we must prepare ourselves for more violence and more casualties in coming months.”[11]
- On January 21, 2011, “thousands of tribesmen marched in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on Friday against the U.S. drone strikes, which they said killed innocent people.”[12]
- On January 23, 2011, US missiles killed six more people in Pakistan.[13]
The US is not at war with Pakistan, but the CIA regularly launches drone missiles to kill militants in that nation. How does bombing Pakistan “challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future” as the President eulogized in Tucson?
Increasing the Prospects for Future Violence
“Our overarching goal remains the same: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qa’ida in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future.” - President Obama, West Point, December 1, 2009[14]
According to the White House, US policy in the region is supposed to keep al Qaeda out of Afghanistan, where the US government estimates there to be 50-100 al Qaeda operatives of an estimated total of 500 in the AfPak region.[15][16] But the US government acknowledges none of this violence in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, where there is no declared war, over 2000 are estimated to have been killed by US drones since 2006. Wikileaks leaked US embassy cables showing the Pakistani government is complicit in the US drone attacks, and that the US military is targeting opponents of the Pakistani government—not al Qaeda.[17]
The current administration is using violence in a place it has no lawful right to do so, targeting people other than al Qaeda—its stated goal in the region, and is killing civilians in the process.
Remember: Violence is Not the Answer
American politicians tell us that violence is not the answer. Is this some new understanding they have derived from the tragedy in Tucson?
Pakistanis, Iraqis, Afghans, and Yemenis caught between domestic terrorists and US government invaders will be glad to hear the news.
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[1] “Palin Joins Debate on Heated Speech With Words That Stir New Controversy,” By JEFF ZELENY and MICHAEL D. SHEAR, NY Times, Jan 12, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/us/13palin.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha24 on Jan 13, 2011).
[2] “Ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rips President Obama on budget, war on terror at Tea Party Convention,” BY Tina Moore, DAILY NEWS, Feb 7, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/02/07/2010-02-07_sarah_thunders_during_tea_party.html on Jan 29, 2011).
[3] “Dem planning bill that would outlaw threats to lawmakers,” By Peter Schroeder, The Hill, 01/09/11, (Accessed at http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/136895-dem-planning-bill-that-would-outlaw-threatening-lawmakers on Jan 24, 2011).
What many in the mob apparently do not realize is that in our democracy, where we all have “equal” rights, some are more equal than others, as Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) reportedly plans to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress.
[4] “Video and Transcript: EXCLUSIVE...Blackwater’s Youngest Victim: Father of 9-Year-Old Killed in Nisoor Square Gives Most Detailed Account of Massacre to Date,” (Accessed at http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/29/exclusiveblackwaters_youngest_victim_father_of_9 on Jan 29, 2011).
[5] “A name that lives in infamy,” Mike Marqusee, The Guardian, 10 November 2005, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/nov/10/usa.iraq on Jan 29, 2011).
This describes the April 2004 seige:
“EXCLUSIVE: Al Jazeera Reporters Give Bloody First Hand Account of April ’04 U.S. Siege of Fallujah,” Democracy Now, Feb 22, 2006, (Accessed at http://www.democracynow.org/2006/2/22/exclusive_al_jazeera_reporters_give_bloody on Jan 29, 2011).
[6] “Obama’s Remarks in Tucson,” NY Times, Jan 12, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/us/politics/13obama-text.html?pagewanted=all on Jan 13, 2011).
[7] “2010, The Year of Assassination by Drones,” Conflict Monitoring Center, Jan 2011, Islamabad, Pakistan, (Accessed at http://www.pakistankakhudahafiz.com/download/DronesAnnualReport.pdf on Jan 27, 2011).
[8] “Do Targeted Killings Work?” Brookings, Daniel L. Byman, July 14, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2009/0714_targeted_killings_byman.aspx on Jan 27, 2011).
[9] “US missiles kill 54 in Pakistan,” By Riaz Khan, AP, Dec 17, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/us-missiles-kill-54-in-pakistan-2163393.html on Jan 24, 2011).
[10] “Missile strikes inside Pakistan kill 25 suspected insurgents,” By Zulfiqar Ali and Laura King, LA Times, Dec 28, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-drone-strike-20101228,0,5698217.story on Jan 26, 2011).
[11] “US military chief Mike Mullen in Afghan warning,” Jan 13, 2011, BBC News, (Accessed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12178913 on Jan 27, 2011).
[12] “Thousands demonstrate against U.S. drone strikes,” Xinhua, Xiong Tong, Jan 21, 2011, (Accessed at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/21/c_13701881.htm on Jan 26, 2011).
[13] “Suspected US Drone Strikes Kills 6 in NW Pakistan,” Voice of America, Jan 23, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Suspected-US-Drone-Strikes-Kills-6-in-NW-Pakistan-114444804.html Jan 26, 2011).
[14] “Overview of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Annual Review,” The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Dec 16, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/12/16/overview-afghanistan-and-pakistan-annual-review on Jan 25, 2011).
[15] “New Estimate of Strength of Al Qaeda Is Offered,” By DAVID E. SANGER and MARK MAZZETTI, NY Times, June 30, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/world/asia/01qaeda.html?_r=1 on Dec 7, 2010).
[16] “President Obama's Secret: Only 100 al Qaeda Now in Afghanistan,” By RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE and BRIAN ROSS, ABC News, Dec. 2, 2009, (Accessed at http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/president-obamas-secret-100-al-qaeda-now-afghanistan/story?id=9227861 on Dec 7, 2010).
[17] “US embassy cables: Pakistan backs US drone attacks on tribal areas,” Guardian, Nov 30, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/167125 on Jan 27, 2011).
The leaked cable is from Aug 23, 2008. PM is Prime Minister Gilani, and Malik is Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The relevant paragraph, after discussions of cooperation between the US and Pakistani governments where the US supplies upgrades to Pakistani F-16 fighter jets in return for Pakistani government protection of former US puppet Musharaff after his impeachment:
11. (C) Malik suggested we hold off alleged Predator attacks until after the Bajaur operation. The PM brushed aside Rehman,s remarks and said "I don’t care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We’ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it." (Note: The strike has been front page news, but the media is reporting that the targets were nests of Arab fighters.)
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