Killing Civilians after Bush
Is it Any Less Ethical Under an Obama Administration?

MLK said that you can murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder.

On January 25, 2009 the Associated Press ran a story titled "Afghan president: US forces killed 16 civilians."

According to President Hamid Karzai, a U.S. military operation on Saturday, January 24, killed 16 Afghan civilians. Hundreds of villagers rallied against our military and its destruction of innocent human life. Karzai said that 2 women and 3 children were among those killed by the U.S. military strike.

The AP quotes Karzai is repeating a statement which has become almost absurdly clear, yet ubiquitously ignored: "Karzai said the killing of innocent Afghans during U.S. military operations 'is strengthening the terrorists.'"

In the piece we discover that U.S. politicians and a top NATO official are angry with Karzai and the slow progress taking place in Afghanistan. We even learn that the Obama administration must contemplate whether or not to support Karzai's reelection. Yet there is no acknowledgment that the U.S. 's killing of innocent civilians itself is a likely contributor to the lack of progress in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, President Obama continues to support military strikes like the one which took 16 innocent lives including 2 women and 3 children.Who can blame those who are angrily denouncing our military and demanding an end to overnight raids which take innocent life? What does the U.S. military have to say? "We are sorry for this incident and after this we are going to coordinate our operations with Afghan forces."

One must ask why U.S. and NATO forces had continuously ignored Karzai's calls to end air strikes in civilian areas? But now we are to believe, after the killing of hundreds that U.S. forces will work coordinate with Afghan forces. That's nice. Meanwhile many innocent lives have been destroyed; human beings have been robbed of life.

The real problem, however, is that those who lead our nation are operating under a failed strategy which believes we can end war with war, terrorism with terrorism, murder with murder.

Until our elected representatives, including President Obama, realize that one can't create a peaceful and just world via military operations that take the lives of innocent mothers, fathers, and children, violence and terrorism will continue. We need a Department of Peace, not specialists in execution and predator drones.