Boston Marathon Bombing stopped Afghan border drone attacks ?

[enhanced_deficit]

Obama (or some may say his puppet masters) had escalated drone attacks in Afghan border areas since 2009 that have killed many civilians with only 2% of the killed Al Qaeda. On March 25 2013, Guardian UK published an animation of rocketing drone attacks since Obama came to power:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2013/mar/25/drone-attacks-pakistan-visualised

Drone Operator Tells of Killing Civilians, Children

Here is an NPR segment featuring a former Air Force pilot who operated drones. He describes targeting and killing people he thinks were civilians, or at least not a threat. He describes bombing a man running away, and when the smoke cleared saw the man get his leg blown off and bleed to death. He also describes killing a child in a drone strike.

http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/05/10/drone-operators-tells-of-killing-civilians-children/

US drone attacks killed 700 civilians, officials say
Paul Woodward
Jan 4, 2010

http://www.thenational.ae/news/us-drone-attacks-killed-700-civilians-officials-say

Boston Marathon Bombing occured on April 15, 2013 and on April 19 younger suspect was arrested and bombing was claimed to be revenge for killings going on in Afghanistan, Iraq and not linked to domestic causes. Last reported drone attack took place on April 17. In an unusual lull, there have been no drone attacks in a month since then. Is this just a coincidence or Obama has stopped drone attacks abruptly as a result of Boston Marathon Bombing?




Some related articles in media that shed light on these connections:

Boston bombing suspect cites U.S. wars as motivation, officials say

The note -- scrawled with a marker on the interior wall of the cabin -- said the bombings were retribution for U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, and called the Boston victims "collateral damage" in the same way Muslims have been in the American-led wars.

Obama has made repairing U.S. relations with the Islamic world a foreign policy priority, even as he has expanded drone operations in Pakistan and other countries, which has inflamed Muslim public opinion.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/nationa...4b9cea-ac29-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_story.html


On Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, special correspondent Tom Brokaw used a discussion on the Boston Marathon bombings to argue more broadly that the "roots" of anti-American terrorism across the Islamic world are U.S. drone attacks: "I think we also have to examine the use of drones that the United States is involved in and – and there are a lot of civilians who are innocently killed in a drone attack in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, and in Iraq." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Brokaw began by wondering: "We have to work a lot harder at a motivation here. What prompts a young man to come to this country and still feel alienated from it, to go back to Russia and do whatever he did? And I don't think we've examined that enough." Speaking of people in the Middle East, Brokaw warned: "There is this enormous rage against what they see in that part of the world as a presumptuousness of the United States."

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2013/04/22/nbcs-brokaw-blames-us-drone-attacks-motivating-boston-bombers





News update:

CIA cutting down on drone strikes in Pakistan, fearing public outrage

By Joshua Kopstein on July 25, 2013
The tempo of CIA drone strikes in Pakistan has slowed significantly in recent months, and anonymous officials tell The Associated Press that the reason has to do with the public's intensifying criticism of the program, which has reportedly killed hundreds of civilians since 2004.



Question arises that Obama escalated drone strikes that routinely killed civilians/children 4 years ago, why fear of public outrage registering just now?
​

 

[enhanced_deficit]

Some additional commnetaries/questions that popped up when looking up drone news:

The US Perpetrates a Boston Bombing Weekly in Pakistan, Yemen & Afghanistan

Sean A. McElwee, April 24, 2013

The Boston Bombings left three dead and more than 100 injured and some have suggested circumventing the rule of law to prosecute the perpetrator. Yet, in Pakistan the unconstitutional drone war continues to kill innocents. On April 14, between 4 and 6 Pakistanis died in drone strike and numerous civilians were injured. Another strike three days later killed 5 more and injured several. Yet there are no protests in America to capture the responsible party, nor will there ever be justice. The people of Waziristan live in constant fear, and face bombings like that of Boston almost weekly.
The two April strikes both involved significant amounts of terror, with drones “hovering over the area” for long periods of time, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. These drone strikes, contrary to administration claims, rarely target “high-level” members of terrorist organizations, and often “militants” include young boys aged 10-16.

http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/04/24/...bombing-weekly-in-pakistan-yemen-afghanistan/

Did U.S. Pause Drone Strikes for Pakistan Election?
Last publicly reported drone strike was one month ago
By Paul D. Shinkman


May 16, 2013

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/05/16/did-us-pause-drone-strikes-for-pakistan-election

 

[Warlord]

No, the ruling from the Peshawar high court and the election has likely stopped them for now.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

No, the ruling from the Peshawar high court and the election has likely stopped them for now.

Last drone attack in the region was on April 17, Peshawar high court ruling declaring drone attacks a war crime came on May 9 and elections there took place on May 11.

Drone strikes illegal, a war crime: Pakistani high court - Times Of India
May 10, 2013 – ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani high court on Thursday declared the US drone strikes in the country's tribal regions illegal and directed the ...

Obama's masters had not even taken a break in drone attacks during massive floods there:

Amid flooding, CIA resumes Pakistan drone strikes - World news ... www.nbcnews.com/.../amid-flooding-cia-resumes-pakistan-drone-campa...‎
Aug 23, 2010 – Some fear the air strikes are coming at the worst possible moment: Flooding has submerged one sixth of the country and left at least six million ...

US drone attacks do not stop in flood-hit Pakistan, 20 dead | Asia ...www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=62926‎
US drone attacks do not stop in flood-hit Pakistan, 20 dead. Pakistani intelligence officials said, four women and three children were among the dead. ...

Do you really think Obama puppet masters would abruptly halt such a major "war on terror" policy to "make America safe" as a result of some foreign court ruling of a puppet regime that has been receiving billions of dollars every year to be complicit in these wink and nod drone attacks. These drone attacks have been going on for 4 years, why would the Peshawar Court just wake up to "war crime" laws awareness now?

For years it has been known that drone attacks killed and terrorized civilians and had been inflaming populations in those region against US, sudden respect of democratic aspirations would not match the track record of Obama's puppet masters. On going blockade of Gaza years after democratic lecetions is just one example.


Boston Marathon Bombing shook public confidence in Obama's foreign policy/wars escalation, demolished the narrative that bombings in Afghan areas were making Americans safe. Disapproval of Obama's foreign policy jumped by almost 10 points after Boston bombing. This seems like a more credible connection than others at this point.
Obama and his puppet masters very well could end up being tried as war criminals someoday but it is more likely to be by a court in Hague than in Peshawar.


On a different note, this also made news recently.

Reporter Asks White House if U.S. Airstrikes That Kill Afghan Civilians Qualify as ‘Terrorism’

April 17, 2013

Matthew Keys, the social media editor at Reuters, posted audio of a reporter asking White House Press Secretary Jay Carney if U.S. bombings that kill innocent civilians in Afghanistan constitute an “act of terror” given the labeling of the Boston Marathon bombing as “terrorism”. She specifically refers to a U.S. airstrike earlier this month that killed 11 children, just the latest in a seemingly endless line of Afghan civilian deaths at the hands of the U.S. government.

Carney completely dodged the questions, pointing instead to the 9/11 terrorist attacks to justify U.S. bombings in Afghanistan. After a long-winded answer excusing U.S. conduct, Carney concludes, “ we take great care in the prosecution of this war.”

http://raniakhalek.com/2013/04/17/r...t-kill-afghan-civilians-qualify-as-terrorism/

 

[Zippyjuan]

US drone attacks in Pakistan were on the decline aready anyways. They peaked in 2010 at 122. 2011 saw 72, 2012 it was down to 48 and 12 so far in 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan I think the Pakistani elections and the recent court ruling were definately factors.

 

[BlackTerrel]

Boston Marathon Bombing shook public confidence in Obama's foreign policy/wars escalation, demolished the narrative that bombings in Afghan areas were making Americans safe. Disapproval of Obama's foreign policy jumped by almost 10 points after Boston bombing. This seems like a more credible connection than others at this point.

Cui Bono? So Boston marathon was false flag by those who oppose drone war maybe?

 

[enhanced_deficit]

US drone attacks in Pakistan were on the decline aready anyways. They peaked in 2010 at 122. 2011 saw 72, 2012 it was down to 48 and 12 so far in 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan I think the Pakistani elections and the recent court ruling were definately factors.

While compared to 2010, drone attacks frequency was down, for 2012 and upto Boston Marathon bombing week, there was on average a drone attack every week. A halt in the one month after Boston bombing coupled with the fact that Taliban killed near 30 US/NATO soldiers and various top Afghan officials in their spring offensive during same period makes this halt even more noteworthy. Untill this halt, in the past almost always there was a retaliatory drone attack or NATO air bombing sometimes within hours of any major insurgent attack on NATO troops.

While there could be various factors at play and too soon to know for sure if Boston marathon attack was a Obama drone war "game changer", realization of increased threat of the "double tap" bombing of sports arenas in the US like the one that took place in Boston as retaliation for Afghan war violence by "self-radicalized" actors in the US is bound to be an important consideration for team Obama in planning future drone attacks strategy.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

In related developments:


CBS/AP/ May 19, 2013, 1:11 PM
Obama to discuss legality of drone program

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will discuss the legality of his administration's secret drone program and other counterterrorism practices during a speech Thursday, a White House official said.

Obama's speech will be an attempt to fulfill his State of the Union pledge to be more "transparent" with the public about the controversial drone program that has become the centerpiece of the White House's efforts to combat terrorism.

The official said Obama would also use Thursday's address at the National Defense University to discuss efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The president had vowed to renew those efforts despite being thwarted in his attempts to close the prison during his first term.

Obama had been ready to deliver the speech earlier this month, the official said, but it was delayed amid a series of distracting events. Among them: hunger strikes at Guantanamo and the Justice Department's subpoena of phone records from journalists at The Associated Press. Plans for the speech were first reported by The Washington Post, which claims Obama may alter it to address those two issues.

The administration is expected to increase its use of drones and other counterterrorism techniques as the war in Afghanistan winds to a close at the end of 2014 and the vast majority of U.S. troops return home.
The official was authorized to discuss the talk only on grounds of anonymity since Obama had yet to deliver it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57585211/obama-to-discuss-legality-of-drone-program/

Cui Bono? So Boston marathon was false flag by those who oppose drone war maybe?

That would be a different subject, this discussion is based on assumption that official story about Boston Marathon bombins is rooted in facts.

 

[BlackTerrel]

That would be a different subject, this discussion is based on assumption that official story about Boston Marathon bombins is rooted in facts.

I know but I'd like to hear from the conspiracy theorists on this one. Cui bono? Who benefited from this one?

Truth is terrorism does work. Coming out that this was done due to American foreign policy turns people against American foreign policy. People start believing in blowback.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

I know but I'd like to hear from the conspiracy theorists on this one. Cui bono? Who benefited from this one?

Truth is terrorism does work. Coming out that this was done due to American foreign policy turns people against American foreign policy. People start believing in blowback.

Recent evidence suggests you are right on this.

 

[ClydeCoulter]

Cui Bono? So Boston marathon was false flag by those who oppose drone war maybe?

Do you know for sure what happened? Looking at different scenarios is valid. Yes, any "final" opinion of "I know what happened" must be consistent. And, there may be more than one faction within any given government, that's how coup's happen.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

No, the ruling from the Peshawar high court and the election has likely stopped them for now.

That theory seems out the window now, it seems extremely unlikely that a foreign corrupt regime's court or foreign public aspirations will dictate a shift in a major US foreign policy in the WOT to make America safe:

Obama, in a Shift, to Limit Targets of Drone Strikes

New York Times ‎- by Charlie Savage ‎- 13 minutes ago
A day after admitting the killing of four Americans in drone strikes, the president will announce that control of the program will move away from ...

https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/...dges-killing-4-americans-in-drone-strikes.htm

 

[BlackTerrel]

Do you know for sure what happened? Looking at different scenarios is valid. Yes, any "final" opinion of "I know what happened" must be consistent. And, there may be more than one faction within any given government, that's how coup's happen.

Who do you think benefited from this bombing?

 

[BlackTerrel]

Who benefited from the bombing?

 

[jmdrake]

Who benefited from the bombing?

The domestic police state.

 

[BlackTerrel]

Not really.

A new poll released Wednesday confirms what other surveys conducted in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings have already found: Americans are protective of their civil liberties.

By a 61 to 31 percent margin, the Time/CNN/ORC International poll found, Americans are more concerned that new anti-terrorism policies will excessively restrict civil liberties than that government will fail to enact strong, new anti-terrorism policies. A plurality of people, 49 percent, would not be willing to give up civil liberties if it were necessary to curb terrorism, compared to 40 percent who would.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

That picture seems to be at odds with your poll.

They are probably referring to people snooping at their facebook messages without a warrant.

People welcome the po-lice.

 

[jmdrake]

That picture seems to be at odds with your poll.

They are probably referring to people snooping at their facebook messages without a warrant.

People welcome the po-lice.

Oh it's worse than that. People feel powerless to do anything about it. I know a lot of people who, if asked, would say they don't like the TSA. But many of those same people will turn around and say "But what can we do? We don't want bombs on the plane." That's what BlackTerrell is not getting. People are being acclimatized by the police state, regardless of whether they "like it". How many people in Boston protested what happened? How many offered any kind of resistance?

 

[Warlord]

That theory seems out the window now, it seems extremely unlikely that a foreign corrupt regime's court or foreign public aspirations will dictate a shift in a major US foreign policy in the WOT to make America safe:

Obama, in a Shift, to Limit Targets of Drone Strikes

New York Times ‎- by Charlie Savage ‎- 13 minutes ago
A day after admitting the killing of four Americans in drone strikes, the president will announce that control of the program will move away from ...

https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/...dges-killing-4-americans-in-drone-strikes.htm

That speech was written and scheduled long ago by his handlers. There are many pressures on him to stop them. Terror attacks in Boston are not the reason. In fact he said such attacks wont stop him and mentioned Boston in his speech.

It's more Rand Paul drawing attention to it all, liberals getting restless and yes the Pakistan High Court ruling calling them war crimes which you wont see reported anywhere.

He's still doing them in Yemen:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?414922-US-drone-strike-kills-4-in-Yemen

5 days ago, killing 4. No due process for those ragheads.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

[h=3]Dzhokhar Tsarnaev indicted in Boston Marathon bombing[/h]USA TODAY-13 hours ago
A federal grand jury in Boston has returned a 30-count indictment against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, charging the 19-year-old with murder and the ...