Drone photo said to show Taliban

[Sarge]

This is what happens when your PC adminstration makes you think twice about killing people during wartime

The Predator pilot probably just got done reading about how those 8 Marines at Camp Pendleton are sitting in solitary confinement for doing their jobs and thought twice about blowing these ****ers away

" Owwwww Bluto, we can't shoot at those guys. We might get in trouble. It's near a cemetary you know"

Now, had I had my finger on the trigger, those *******s would have joined their brother in the cememtary. Dig a hole, scoops whatever remained into the hole, insert Slim Jim and cover

Easy


This is getting as bad as the klinton years


http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html








KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The U.S. military said it is looking into the unauthorized release of a photo purportedly taken by an American drone aircraft showing scores of Taliban militants at a funeral in Afghanistan.

NBC-TV claimed U.S. Army officers wanted to attack the ceremony with missiles carried by the Predator drone, but were prevented under rules of battlefield engagement that bar attacks on cemeteries.

Lt. Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman with the U.S. military in Kabul, said the photograph was released to the network by someone who did not have the clearance to hand it out.

Good move. Find an prosecute whoever released the photo before you ask yourself why we didn't waste these *******s. Typical



"It is an operational security issue and the photo was released at an inappropriate level," Lawrence told The Associated Press Wednesday. "Inquiries are being made into how it was released."

NATO spokesman James Appathurai declined to comment on the incident.

"I haven't seen the story and I can't comment on U.S. rules of engagement," he told a news conference in Brussels, Belgium.

Lawrence declined to provide further details. It was not clear when the photo was taken nor where the gathering took place.

The grainy black and white photo shows what NBC says are some 190 Taliban militants standing in several rows near a vehicle in an open area of land. Gunsight-like brackets were positioned over the group in the photo.

NBC quoted one Army officer who was involved with the spy mission as saying "we were so excited" that the group had been spotted and was in the sights of a U.S. drone.

But the network quoted the officer, who was not identified, as saying that frustration soon set in after the officers realized they couldn't bomb the funeral under the military's rules of engagement.

NBC later removed the photo from its Web site.

At the Pentagon, officials also declined to comment on what the photo depicts, when it was taken, and what the rules of engagement are in such situations.

But Defense Department officials have said repeatedly that while they try to be mindful of religious and cultural sensitivities, they make no promises that such sites can always be avoided in battle because militants often seek cover in those and other civilian sites.

Mosques and similar locations have become frequent sites of violence in the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Taliban militants this year have been waging their bloodiest campaign of violence since their 2001 ouster from power in the U.S.-led invasion launched after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The U.S. military has previously used Predator drones with deadly effect, firing one missile into a Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border in January in a failed bid to kill al Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahri. The strike killed at least 13 civilians.

[SkinsOrlando]

If ever there was a reason to fire Rumsfeld, it's now. How the **** can we fight a war by "not" killing our enemy when the opportunity arises.

[Buford]

I thought we were told the taliban was destroyed.

[Sarge]

I thought we were told the taliban was destroyed.

No, they WOULD hve been destroyed, had someone had some nuts and pulled the trigger

[JohnLockesGhost]

A cemetary? What more apt a place is there to kill people?

[SkinsHokieFan]

I thought we were told the taliban was destroyed.

They have been hiding in Wazirstan the past 3 years

Similar to what'll happen in Iraq once we start to indicate a pull out, these guys will hide and show back up once NATO or the UN shows up

[Buford]

You mean Iraqi's will continue to hide in Iraq?

Or, did you mean the Al-Queda that moved into Iraq after the initial invasion?

[Redskins Diehard]

I guess there is little hope that this thread will stay on topic.


This incident neither increases or decreases the need fire Rumsfeld. The ROE dictates, and rightfully so, that we avoid collateral damage to people and culturally sensitive areas. I think if I were making the decision on whether or not to engage I would have given the go ahead. However if anyone should be fired/relieved it should be the person that said don't shoot.

The SM that released this photo should be found and prosecuted. Ways and means should not be released unless a conscious decision is made to do so by those in charge. We have just told these people that we have armed predators flying over them in whatever part of the country this is in. If we decide that this was the wrong decision and to go ahead and engage in the future the enemy may not be so ready to congregate. They probably thought we had moved all our assets out of country!

[Sarge]

They have been hiding in Wazirstan the past 3 years

Similar to what'll happen in Iraq once we start to indicate a pull out, these guys will hide and show back up once NATO or the UN shows up

Ding ding

As soon as NATO took command of the mission, the Taliban came on out.

They do that every summer anyway, just not in the same force

BTW, anyone know "Hindu Kush", as in the mountain range, means "Kill the Hindu's"?

Just a little trivia for the day

[SkinsHokieFan]

You mean Iraqi's will continue to hide in Iraq?

Or, did you mean the Al-Queda that moved into Iraq after the initial invasion?

Ha ha <sarcastic laugh>

You know what I mean. The terrorists will continue to hold out as long as they can. When the situation is ripe for them to strike, as it is in Afghanistan right now, because short of us, any other military in the world will struggle.

NATO and UN forces will either need to step up their game big time, or the Taliban is going to make some gains in Afghanistan.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Ding ding

As soon as NATO took command of the mission, the Taliban came on out.

They do that every summer anyway, just not in the same force

BTW, anyone know "Hindu Kush", as in the mountain range, means "Kill the Hindu's"?

Just a little trivia for the day

Another ha ha moment there.

The Kashmir question can be solved in 10 minutes. Its a shame its been 60 years of the same old **** up there

[Sarge]

I guess there is little hope that this thread will stay on topic.


This incident neither increases or decreases the need fire Rumsfeld. The ROE dictates, and rightfully so, that we avoid collateral damage to people and culturally sensitive areas. I think if I were making the decision on whether or not to engage I would have given the go ahead. However if anyone should be fired/relieved it should be the person that said don't shoot.

The SM that released this photo should be found and prosecuted. Ways and means should not be released unless a conscious decision is made to do so by those in charge. We have just told these people that we have armed predators flying over them in whatever part of the country this is in. If we decide that this was the wrong decision and to go ahead and engage in the future the enemy may not be so ready to congregate. They probably thought we had moved all our assets out of country!

While I agree that those that released the photo's should be boned, the more important question is why didn't the Predator pilot fire? Why are those *******s a fine,red mist

I for one have found the ROE in this war are designed with too much PC crap built in.

We have concern for mosques, where the barbarians have none, unless it's to cry to the New York Times of Al Reuters about the bad Americans on a Crusade

We have concern for graveyards, whereas the barbarians have none

We're tying our own hands behind our backs and hinder the warfighters abilities to kill the enemy where ever they may be found

Too many times we've had to ask "Mother, may I?" to kill *******s around "culturally sensitive areas" instead of asking for air support from B-52's

[Sarge]

Another ha ha moment there.

The Kashmir question can be solved in 10 minutes. Its a shame its been 60 years of the same old **** up there

I haven't gone real deep into the various claims, but I don't think India is going to just give up Kashmir. Might have to be some sort of shared arraingment or something

[SkinsHokieFan]

I haven't gone real deep into the various claims, but I don't think India is going to just give up Kashmir. Might have to be some sort of shared arraingment or something

There is a growing "debate" in Pakistan about "is Kashmir worth it?"

When India's military can outspend Pakistan's entire federal budget, is it really worth it to allocate so many resources to the nation's military over a piece of land?

People are starting to think "no" Of course, once Kashmir is solved, a lot of generals in Pakistan will be out of a job

[Redskins Diehard]

While I agree that those that released the photo's should be boned, the more important question is why didn't the Predator pilot fire? Why are those *******s a fine,red mist

I for one have found the ROE in this war are designed with too much PC crap built in.

We have concern for mosques, where the barbarians have none, unless it's to cry to the New York Times of Al Reuters about the bad Americans on a Crusade

We have concern for graveyards, whereas the barbarians have none

We're tying our own hands behind our backs and hinder the warfighters abilities to kill the enemy where ever they may be found

Too many times we've had to ask "Mother, may I?" to kill *******s around "culturally sensitive areas" instead of asking for air support from B-52's

It is hard to be on the "right".

In my opinion you answer the question yourself. We have concern, the barbarians don't. We aren't the barbarians and we put ourselves at risk sometimes because of it. As I said, I am confident I would have given the fire order if asked, and probably not asked permission if I was flying the thing.

The fact is the military is waging a PR battle not just with those overseas. There is plenty of opposition right here at home, and on this board. I suspect there would have been posters right here anxious to throw a thread up about the nasty American military blowing up a cemetary. All of that is IO bullets for the enemy.