Even if Bomber McNeill is arrested for war crimes, such insane attacks will continue. It is what the air force does. That its’ enemy lacks warplanes only intensifies its savagery. In bloodless bureaucratic prose, the official site of the US air force reports around 40 sorties each day in Afghanistan (90 in Iraq), which involve the extermination of [suspected] insurgents in tree lines and family compounds. Example: “July 507: F-15Es hit an enemy mortar position with GBU-38s near Kajaki Dam. The JTAC reported the weapons hit their intended target. The pilots also conducted a show of force to try and flush out any insurgents still in the area… aircrews also strafed enemies in a tree line”, etc. C-130 crews from Australia assisted in such attacks, despite Canberra’s assurance that its mission is one of “restoring infrastructure”.
Western commanders say any comparison of casualties caused by Western forces and by the Taliban is unfair because there is a clear moral distinction between accidental deaths from combat operations and deliberate killings of innocents by militants. This is claptrap. When invading an impoverished land peopled by extended families with interlocking tribal loyalties, the world’s mightiest air power has an obligation to proceed with respect and restraint. Alas, this it failed to do, as it has failed to do in previous wars.
The killings of civilians cannot be excused as regrettable “accidents”. They may not have been intentional, but they arise from a military culture that makes such casualties inevitable. In their hearts, the officers know this. It is why they don’t do body counts. It is why in the daily reports hundreds of bombing raids, you’ll never see any mention of death.
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