Unless the reporter's description of the bomblets and the interviews with survivors are all lies, I'd say that the USAF did indeed drop a cluster bomb on a residential area.
It's fairly important to identify the bias of an article. Value-laden wording or sensationalized journalism often make a difference in influencing the reader’s opinion – especially if the analysis is colored red. Journalism might be factually correct yet lead the reader to pre-ordained conclusions nonetheless.
So if an al'qaeda cell was holed up next door to you, you wouldn't have any objections to the USAF dropping a cluster bomb on them? I mean, you'd happily sit there and die screaming as you bleed out from multiple fragmentation wounds, your eardrums burst from the overpressure, and feel good about it, because, dang nabbit, you're boys nailed those a-rab terrorists good?
I’m sure there’s a technical term for this – you know, when somebody produces a hypothetical scenario with which to draw parallels but does so in biased fashion.
We’re not talking about a row of flats; it’s more like a whole fucking town. We’re not talking about an al-Qaeda cell but potentially dozens of armed fighters whose defensive positions were apparently strong enough to warrant calling in an air strike.
I'm sure you know the pilots exact briefing, all updates they received in flight, the situation on the ground, the pilots aim point and all other specific data that's needed to make such a call.
Finally, somebody who at least acknowledges reason.
It's more my beef. The pro-war people just don't seem to give a fuck about Iraqi civilians. We could accidentally fucking napalm a village and kill hundreds of innocents, and it'd all just be chalked up to "well in war this stuff happens."
What do you want us to say?
We acknowledge that it is (A) horrible, (B) heart-wrenching, and (C) from time to time inexcusable (given the information that comes out subsequent to the tragedy). This still doesn’t make the situation go away.
Those who make similar arguments – ie, Ted and Weemadando – are doing so to attempt and decry the war as a whole. They are essentially telling us that these events are indicative of a failed war effort or an “evil” conspiracy and justify a withdrawal or immediate end to the war. In doing so they conveniently forget to rail against Saddam Hussein, a man whose soldiers shoot civilians intentionally rather than by mistake.
Don’t forget that people lose their careers and their minds over this. Friendly-fire attacks leave all sides scarred for life. The damage should be contained and the situation reviewed. Beyond that, I’m not sure we need to continue the discussion.
