NEWS: 1000's Of Tribesmen Protest Against Alleged US Zawahiri Air Strike

Around 5000 people have gathered at a stadium to protest the alleged US Air Strike on a nearby village that reportedly targetted Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian born Al Qaeda deputy in command. Media outlets are claiming five senior Al Qaeda leaders were amongst the dead from the Explosions. Other reports are quoting American and Pakistani intelligence, stating that the attack was a CIA attempt on Zawahiri, who according to some sources is believed not to have been in the region at the time. The US military in Afghanistan has denied involvement in the attack which appears to have been a missile strike. Pakistan is summoning the US ambassador to "please explain" the attack and the information Minister has stated that a protest will be lodged.



It seems noboady know what is going on with this attack. No-one has said yet that Zawahiri was killed. Some sources say he has not been identified while others say he wasn't even there at the time. This ABC source says the US military in Afghanistan was not involved while others linked clearly state that the attack was US led. Other sources say it was the CIA and the man who's house was bombed says that he doesn't know Zawahiri. Sources have been quoted without actually naming names, instead US intelligence sources, Pakistani intelligence sources and so on. One source will say it was not Zawahiri that was targetted and others say he was targetted.

A lot has been said considering nothing has actually been said. What we do know is that 5000 people living nearby have protested. Who can blame them?

Related News Links:
www.dailytimes.com.pk
www.thestar.com
www.latimes.com
english.aljazeera.net


[edit on 14-1-2006 by Mayet]

[edit on 1-15-2006 by Valhall]

A lot has been said considering nothing has actually been said. What we do know is that 5000 people living nearby have protested. Who can blame them?

If nothing has been said, then what the heck are they protesting about?

Answering the question of whether Zawahiri was actually present in the town is complicated by the fact that their custom states that the dead must be buried within 24 hours of dying.

On a side note, I saw the town on TV, and it suprised me that they would need a stadium there... it's such a desolate place. I wonder what they use it for. Public stonings?

I hope it's true. The only good al Qaeda is a dead al Qaeda. We could use more news like this. Like the man said, there's no distinction between terrorists and those who harbor terrorists.

So what you are saying is that if the CIA were involved in the explosion then the USA are also harbouring terrorists.. am I right?

(bearing in mind that children had been killed and that no authorisation by the Pakistani government had been given to carry this out.)

So what you are saying is that if the CIA were involved in the explosion then the USA are also harbouring terrorists.. am I right?

I don't understand this statement at all. I don't even know if the report is true. I'm glad to hear when al Qaeda leaders die and I'm even more glad when it turns out to be true and so should you.

I dont' disagree that tyrants should be eliminated, but had any actually been in this attack on Pakistani soil?

for example, is it justified that if you live in an apartment block and 2 floors above, CIA has 'intelligence' stating that a known affiliate with a terrorist group is living there.. they then blow up the apartment block without informing the owner of their intentions only to find that the terrorist affiliate was not even their and as a result you and other innocent people have been maimed..

I kind of see the argument that Pakistan has for this protest..

More Faulty Intelligence?

Innocent men, women and children who died in this attack are simply colatteral damage and inconsequential. At least, that has been the attitude of the US leadership thus far under similar circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan

Also, imagine the uproar if Pakistan were to do something similar on US soil..

Does it not strike you that there are double standards here because I am beginning to think that there is a "one rule for them and one rule for us" attitude occuring, similar to that shown in Animal Farm where "All animals are created equal, some are more equal than others."

More Faulty Intelligence?

Innocent men, women and children who died in this attack are simply colatteral damage and inconsequential. At least, that has been the attitude of the US leadership thus far under similar circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan

The message couldn't be clearer: do not harbor terrorists. If you continue to do so, then you and only you will be responsible for the deaths of your children.

Also, imagine the uproar if Pakistan were to do something similar on US soil..

Does it not strike you that there are double standards here because I am beginning to think that there is a "one rule for them and one rule for us" attitude occuring

If they do, then they can expect full retaliation. See the rule above: do not harbor terrorists.

Where's the proof that they were terrorists? I can see more leasons to come out of this than your ones jsobecky. They are:

a) National borders are henceforth not recognized
b) Innocent civilians can be put to death for the actions of others
c) No proof is needed before executing some one
d) No proof will be asked for before believing a terrorist was infact killed
e) The rule of law only applies when the US says it does

But it would appear that these people were not harbouring terrorists. Even if some high profile bogeyman had been there, does that mean that everyone in the village is guilty of harbouring him, or are they just getting on with their lives?

So, the fact remains then that the US has murdered innocent people in a foreign country. Those who ordered and carried out the attack are therefore terrorists themselves and should be held accountable.

from subz Where's the proof that they were terrorists?

subz, will you volunteer to go onsite and gather all info needed to determine whether there were terrorists there? Thanks!

In the meantime, how about some circumstantial evidence?

In Afghanistan, Mohammed Hasan, deputy police chief of Kunar province, which is opposite Bajur, said U.S. forces had for weeks been patrolling in airplanes along the rugged border, which he described as a hide-out for Arab terrorists.
The Star

Emphasis added
or this, from the same source:

The second Pakistani intelligence official told AP the remains of some bodies had "quickly been removed" from Damadola after the strike and DNA tests were being conducted, but would not say by whom. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

The official added that hours before the strike some unidentified guests had arrived at the home of one tribesman named Shah Zaman.

I can see more leasons to come out of this than your ones jsobecky.

Yeah, but none quite so effective as mine, eh?

from Britguy So, the fact remains then that the US has murdered innocent people in a foreign country. Those who ordered and carried out the attack are therefore terrorists themselves and should be held accountable.

Yeah, in retaliation for 9/11. Where, by the way, innocent people were murdered by foreigners who were also terrorists.

They weren't innocent if they were harboring terrorists.

I keep forgetting it was all those Iraqi, Aghani and Pakistani women and kids who crashed planes into the twin towers Jsobecky... how silly of me to forget

How many times now have innocent people been killed in those 3 places using the excuse that intel reports put Al Qaida/insurgents there at the time? How many innocent people have died and been shrugged off as colatteral damage? Murder is murder, there is no excuse and people should be held accountable for it.

Originally posted by jsobecky
If nothing has been said, then what the heck are they protesting about?

....
On a side note, I saw the town on TV, and it suprised me that they would need a stadium there... it's such a desolate place. I wonder what they use it for. Public stonings?

I always expect to see excuses here for the slaughter of innocent civilians, but these are the most distasteful comments I've seen yet.

I can't find a way to respond without making a personal attack, so I'll just shut up now.

Originally posted by jsobecky
subz, will you volunteer to go onsite and gather all info needed to determine whether there were terrorists there? Thanks!

In the meantime, how about some circumstantial evidence?

Well since the CIA/FBI themselves have not even confirmed, via DNA, that there were infact any terrorists killed in this attack how am I expected to determine anything? The absence of confirmation that any terrorists died in this attack should prevent the crowing from some members in this thread that this attack was anything more than wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians.

It also does not matter a jot when it comes to the collateral damage incurred. I guess our mentalities are just wildly disparate but I would never be able to condemn the children of a blatant criminal, let alone suspected criminals. Saying that they put their children's lives in danger is crap and a complete and utter cop-out. The United States was the one that dropped the bombs, the bombs killed these kids and that's the end of it. No amount of vile euphemisms and greasy spin talk can hide the fact of what yet again the American government has committed. The slaughter of innocent civilians.

Source Of Blame

From the source post:
A lot has been said considering nothing has actually been said. What we do know is that 5000 people living nearby have protested. Who can blame them?

I don't blame them. If something like that happened in my neighborhood, I would want to know what the hell was going on, too.

Here's hoping they -- and we -- eventually do.

Three Houses were Leveled

Meanwhile, a newspaper reported that the mission was launched on intelligence that Ayman al-Zawahri had been invited to dinner that night in one of three houses leveled by the attack on Damadola, a village near the Afghan border.

Even if they KNEW he was there, he cannot occupy 3 houses at once, so somebody had to know that innocents would be killed. I would expect they'd be more sure of their intelligence under those circumstances.

Oh, yeah, that's right, these people have a history of acting under shaky intelligence! 'Slam Dunk', anyone?

Another thing that stinks about this is that the US military is acting like they didn't know what the CIA was doing. It's important for agencies who are working to deceive and/or using less-than-above-board tactics and practices to keep things, for the most part, secret from even each other so one cannot 'rat' on the other...

Plausable Deniability is alive and kicking in the US!

Plausible deniability is the term given to the creation of loose and informal chains of command in government, which allow controversial instructions given by high-ranking officials to be denied if they become public.

My thoughts are with the people who are suffering in this tragedy.

There seem to be conflicting reports about this.

Some say

the bodies were haled away by locals,

others say

the US has access to the bodies.

But even those media who report the bodies had been carried away without giving the U.S. a chance to do forensic tests, confirm that a number of militants were in fact killed.

New York Times

But the senior Pakistani official who spoke of Mr. Zawahiri suggested that the death toll was higher, and he said

that at least 11 militants had been killed in the attack. Seven of the dead were Arab fighters, and another four were Pakistani militants from Punjab Province,

said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the news media.

and furthermore (same source):

On Saturday, the Pakistani security official described some of the intelligence surrounding the airstrike. He said that a dinner at which Mr. Zawahiri was expected had been planned for Thursday night. A local cleric, Maulavi Liaqat, was at the dinner, but he left around midnight, the official said. After the airstrike, Mr. Liaqat was again at the scene, and he had the bodies of the Arab militants pulled from the rubble and taken away, the security official said. A second cleric, Maulavi Atta Muhammad, took away the Pakistani militants, he said.

Yes, I also feel sorry for any harm that befalls innocent people.

This was a deliberate attack on the site, knowing that innocents would be lost in the consequences of the attack.

But I think we really do not need to talk about the fact that the U.S. of course have no interest in striking civilians.

Regretfully, this is what can happen when terrorists use civilians as a human shield and their homes for places of refuge.


[edit on 15-1-2006 by Riwka]

New York Times

But the senior Pakistani official who spoke of Mr. Zawahiri suggested that the death toll was higher, and he said

that at least 11 militants had been killed in the attack. Seven of the dead were Arab fighters, and another four were Pakistani militants from Punjab Province,

said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the news media

an American source (NY times) quoting an anonymous statment about information the US could not possibly have had (have they had access to the people killed?)..

Anybody find a Non US news source regarding this incident - something a little less unbias? If i search the net, the top listings only show US and UK news source like it has flooded the internet...



[edit on 15/1/06 by Klepto]