Thursday, June 12, 2008

How do you say "oops" in Pakistani?

Relations between Washington and the new government in Islamabad have been dealt a severe blow after Pakistan angrily denounced the "unprovoked and cowardly" killing of 11 soldiers in a US air strike near the Afghan border.

The attack, which took place in the volatile tribal areas and is believed to have been carried out by a pilotless drone, is likely to sour ties between the Pakistani and American military and deepen public resentment of Pakistan's role in the so-called war on terror.

How arrogant and dismissive must America appear to these people when we send a machine to do our killing for us while our soldiers stay safe and secure many miles away from the carnage?

This kind of disconnect makes it easy to think of these deaths as simply residual damage.

And the truly sad thing is it appears this is not unusual: While it is widely believed that previous US air strikes have killed Pakistani civilians, and possibly troops, only for responsibility to be taken by the Pakistanis themselves for political reasons, yesterday's condemnation by Islamabad broke new ground.

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