Seven years ago, the former President of the United States ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to murder an American citizen named Anwar al-Awlaki. President Barack Obama knew that Anwar was never charged with ‘any’ crime, but the CIA executed the order and successfully killed the man using drone technology in 2011. The drone strike caused widespread debate over the President’s exercise in power, but shortly after, another drone strike followed; this was more crucial, yet didn’t get the attention it deserved.
Almost half a month after Anwar al-Awlaki was murdered, another drone strike in the same region killed a sixteen-year-old teenager – Anwar al-Awlaki’s American-born son, Abdul Rehman. Rehman was killed with his seventeen-year-old cousin, along with many other innocent Yemenis who were present at the wrong place and time. After the case received attention, the United States government stated how the boy was collateral damage and that they had “no intention” of killing him.
Dirty Wars – Death of Abdul Rahman Anwar al Awlaki in #Yemenhttps://t.co/XeEbVreY5i
— Anon.Dos (@anondos_) February 22, 2017
Few events, such as the one described above, display Obama’s real face. The day he received his Nobel Peace prize was the same day Obama used cluster bombs in Yemen, killing more than thirty children and women.
Yemen has been devastated by the war and the US involvement. The war intensified over the years throughout the former President’s leadership, and along with its allies, coloured Yemen in red with their bombing campaigns. Yemen now faces widespread famine in the name of the United States and allies “finishing” terrorism.
In another act of freeing the nation from terrorism, American military took the life of another innocent al-Awlaki, Nassar, who lost one of his granddaughters.
President Trump highlighted the deaths of the American men and women who were wounded recently, but failed to mention the civilians who were murdered. The military also denied any deaths involving civilians, which was later sealed (in MSM tradition) by a CNN report mentioning that no civilian was harmed.
However, news from Yemen quickly made headlines, reporting more than 25 people killed, with women and young children amongst them, and that the eight-year-old grandchild of Nasser al-Awlaki, who was the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, was also killed.
Here are the images circulating the #Arab media an #8_year_old girl #killed in #US raid in #Yemen. pic.twitter.com/RcxuHMSqm8
— Anon.Dos (@anondos_) February 22, 2017
Jeremy Scahill, the writer of Backwater and a Fellow at The National Institute, interviewed family members who said the granddaughter was shot in the neck and bled to death over two painful hours.
According to the New York Times, army officials were long since planning the raid during the Obama administration. However, President Trump gave the go-ahead for the attack a few weeks after stepping into office.
In addition, the attack was defended, citing the want to destroy the building where terrorists had housed computers with future terrorist plots. Local investigations later discovered a minimum of ten women, and six children between the ages of 3 and 13 were killed in the operation, which also destroyed public buildings, a place of worship, a hospital and a school.
According to the article in The Intercept, investigative journalist Matthew Cole said the Navy Seal Team has a reputation of “revenge operations.” Moreover, the current president, during his campaign, vowed to not only target terrorists but also their family members.
In fact, the most awful and sad truth is the fact that al-Qaeda had very little presence in Yemen before Obama started dropping bombs.
According to one young Yemeni writer, Ibrahim Mothana, the drone bombings are not doing favors for the United States, rather, the bombings are reiterating the need for Yemen’s citizens to defend themselves against the so-called allied front.
He further stated that during President Bush’s administration, there was a tremendous rage, but Obama’s administration is in many ways, climbing over Bush’s policies.
Mothana explained how people who understand human rights must stand against what is happening in Yemen, for it is not finishing terrorism, it’s exacerbating it.
Taking this into consideration, the Yemen abuse must not be overlooked. The current and future US administrations, with their want to continue its crimes against humanity must not be condoned. There are ongoing abuses that Trump is already guilty of participating, however, the lobby, with its old frame of mind and its system of profiteering from war and greed will bend anyone and everything when required.
The irony of Trump banning Yemenis from obtaining visas, and attempting to stop refugees from entering the United States, all the while the United States continues to bomb and kill the people of Yemen, directly and through its allies, is not lost.
Lastly, it is not only President Trump, but the mindset of those who want to profit from war. The mentality needs to be changed.
Source: Salon, The New York Times, Salon, The Telegraph, CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, Reuters, The Free Thought Project
This article (Former President Obama Killed an American Teenager in Yemen, While President Trump Killed an 8-Year-Old Girl) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
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