hey World! what about 2000 yrs+/- of "these elites" ...running things ...hows that going for US ???
Britain’s Ministry of Defence: “Afghan Lives Are Cheap”. Humanity and Criminality has Plummeted to a Historic Low
The contempt with which
“liberated” Afghans are treated by the British Ministry of Defence has
been revealed in figures obtained by the (London) Independent (23rd
September 2013.)
“ ‘Fatality claims’ include the
deaths of Afghan civilians in botched air-strikes, crossfire and road
accidents involving British forces” – in an invasion into which the
British, as ever, trotted obediently after their Washington masters.
A fortnight short of twelve
years later, they are still mired in this “graveyard of empires” killing
subsistence farmers, rural and city dwellers, husbands, wives, children
and entire families – by Drone, gun, crossfire or “our convoy owns the
roads” arrogance.
The families of 185 men, women
and children killed by British forces actions, have been paid “barely
£3,000 each.” However, where there are those “accidentally injured by
British forces” – which can and does include the “accidental” loss of
both legs, or arms, the average payment is: “at an average of £1,750 a
time.”
The Ministry of Defence told
the Independent that all claims were regarded as having: “no lower
priority than UK Armed Forces personnel.”
The MOD has a near unbroken
record of being “economical with the truth”, to coin the memorable
phrase of Sir Robert Armstrong, a former Principle Private Secretary to
the Prime Minister (1970-1975) of his testimony in the 1986 “Spycatcher”
trial.
In the British government, nothing changes, it seems. For injured
UK service personnel, pressure groups point out that the average payment
was £73,000. So much for Afghan lives having “no lower priority …”
“It has been clear all along
that compensation payments for harm to Afghan civilians have been low,
inconsistent and ad hoc,” said Heather Barr, a senior researcher for
Human Rights Watch in Afghanistan.
“Afghan families often rely on
one or two members to support a large extended family. Should the
civilian killed be such a breadwinner, £3,000 would do no more than hold
off destitution for the family for a year or two.”
The figures of the dead and
injured paid paltry compensation, can surely be only the tip of the
iceberg of real numbers, given the years of, and ongoing carnage.They
anyway only cover from 2007 to the present.
The UN Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA) states that 1,319 Afghan civilians were killed and
2,533 injured in the first six months of 2013 – twenty three per cent
more than in the same period last year, quotes the Independent. There
has also been a: “ disproportionate loss of civilian life and injury”
from pro-government forces, trained by, and fighting, of course, on the
side of the US and UK.
Whilst the majority of deaths
and casualties: “ were caused by improvised explosive devices, suicide
bombings and ‘complex attacks’, ‘pro-government forces’ – including
Afghan army and police, and international troops – were blamed for nine
per cent of the casualties, while twelve per cent were unattributed and
resulted from ground engagements between pro-government forces and
‘anti-government elements.’ “
Again, the army and police are
trained by the Americans and British, who, as a still occupying force –
however it is dressed up by more “economy with the truth”, civilian
deaths and casualties are their absolute ultimate responsibility.
In any case, all excess deaths
are entirely as a result of their invasion, thus the insulting and
paltry sums they occasionally and reluctantly pay out are an even
further shameful disgrace.
The UNAMA Report: “also
recorded fifteen civilian deaths and seven injuries in seven” Drone
attacks which: “appeared to target anti-government elements.” Attacks on
human beings designated “an enemy” from a cowardly computer player, in a
warm office thousands of miles away.
All considered, humanity and criminality has plummeted to a historic low.
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