Quote: Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.

Counterterrorism officials insist this approach is one of simple logic: people in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good. “Al Qaeda is an insular, paranoid organization — innocent neighbors don’t hitchhike rides in the back of trucks headed for the border with guns and bombs,” said one official, who requested anonymity to speak about what is still a classified program.

This counting method may partly explain the official claims of extraordinarily low collateral deaths. In a speech last year Mr. Brennan, Mr. Obama’s trusted adviser, said that not a single noncombatant had been killed in a year of strikes. And in a recent interview, a senior administration official said that the number of civilians killed in drone strikes in Pakistan under Mr. Obama was in the “single digits” — and that independent counts of scores or hundreds of civilian deaths unwittingly draw on false propaganda claims by militants.

But in interviews, three former senior intelligence officials expressed disbelief that the number could be so low. The C.I.A. accounting has so troubled some administration officials outside the agency that they have brought their concerns to the White House. One called it “guilt by association” that has led to “deceptive” estimates of civilian casualties.

“It bothers me when they say there were seven guys, so they must all be militants,” the official said. “They count the corpses and they’re not really sure who they are.”

(05-29-2012 02:46 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan killed al-Qaida's second-highest leader in the country in an airstrike in eastern Kunar province, the coalition said Tuesday.

Sakhr al-Taifi, also known as Mushtaq and Nasim, was responsible for commanding foreign insurgents in Afghanistan and directing attacks against NATO and Afghan forces, the alliance said. He frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior al-Qaida leadership and ferrying in weapons and fighters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/sakhr-al-taifi-senior-al-qaeda-afghanistan-killed_n_1552291.html

(05-29-2012 02:46 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan killed al-Qaida's second-highest leader in the country in an airstrike in eastern Kunar province, the coalition said Tuesday.

Sakhr al-Taifi, also known as Mushtaq and Nasim, was responsible for commanding foreign insurgents in Afghanistan and directing attacks against NATO and Afghan forces, the alliance said. He frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior al-Qaida leadership and ferrying in weapons and fighters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/sakhr-al-taifi-senior-al-qaeda-afghanistan-killed_n_1552291.html

(05-29-2012 03:36 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(05-29-2012 02:46 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan killed al-Qaida's second-highest leader in the country in an airstrike in eastern Kunar province, the coalition said Tuesday.

Sakhr al-Taifi, also known as Mushtaq and Nasim, was responsible for commanding foreign insurgents in Afghanistan and directing attacks against NATO and Afghan forces, the alliance said. He frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior al-Qaida leadership and ferrying in weapons and fighters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/sakhr-al-taifi-senior-al-qaeda-afghanistan-killed_n_1552291.html

Just curious, what court convicted Mushtag and sentenced him to die? I know that's a big thing in liberal circles.

(05-29-2012 06:03 PM)I45owl Wrote:  Taking the premise at face value, if the Obama administration has managed to increase drone strikes, one of the most successful decisions he's made, and at the same time, successfully lie about resulting civilian casualties, then all the more credit to them. That would indicate they are simultaneously taking effective action and winnning the propaganda war.

The extra n or two is just for you, RWT