• Pakistani man sues U.S. over drone strikes
    63 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A Pakistani man is suing the U.S. government for $500 million over the death of his son and brother, whom he said were killed in a U.S. unmanned drone strike last year, his attorney said. Shahzad Akbar, attorney for Kareem Khan, said his client also wants all drone attacks halted. He said he has submitted a legal notice to U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, CIA Director Leon Panetta and Islamabad's CIA station chief. Kareem Khan said an airstrike on December 31, 2009, targeted his home in Machikhel, a village in North Waziristan. Khan, a 43-year-old journalist, said he wasn't there at the time but that his family described a huge blast when the missiles hit. He said the reports that the strike killed militants were false. Instead, he says, the missiles killed his 35-year-old brother, Asif Iqbal, a teacher with a master's degree in English literature, his 18 year-old son Zaneullah Khan, a staff member at a government school, and a construction worker who was working on a village mosque. Akbar said drone strikes are killing innocent civilians and also violating international law by ignoring the ban on targeted killings and assassinations away from a battlefield. Kareem argues that the CIA station chief is "a murderer who is to be taken to task." Akbar said he is appealing to "all those innocent victims/heirs of drone attacks to come and joins hands to get justice for their loved ones." Two intelligence officials told CNN this week that that Kareem Khan was housing Haji Omar Khan, a notorious Taliban commander who also was killed in the strike. Kareem Khan denied that he knew Haji Omar Khan. Khan said news reports on the attacks were "mostly misreported." "When my house was attacked, it flashed on the news that militants have been killed," Khan said. "There were no militants in my house, neither on the day of drone strike nor before. My house wasn't a training center, either. Only innocent people where killed." [img]http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/01/pakistan.drone.attack.lawsuit/t1larg.khan.afp.gi.jpg[/img] [/quote] Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/01/pakistan.drone.attack.lawsuit/index.html[/url]
Good luck with that.
[quote]Akbar said drone strikes are killing innocent civilians and also violating international law by ignoring the ban on targeted killings and assassinations away from a battlefield.[/quote] Knowing Akbar's calls in the past, I'd say this whole situation is a trap.
[img]http://relentlesspoa.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/ackbar1.gif[/img]
I'm still wondering how likely the defendant will win as anyone attempts to sue over an entire country
Good for him, I hope he wins even though thats unlikely.
If we know he isn't lying, justice should definitely be carried out here. Shit like this is what makes the rest of the world frown in the direction of the USA.
I hope he wins
If he didn't want his family to be bombed, he should made his protest months ago. The plans were on display in the Pentagon basement for a year!
This guy can fuck off. [editline]3rd December 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Cuntsman;26457697]I hope he wins[/QUOTE] Your name suits you. Cunt. [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Flaming" - SteveUK))[/highlight]
why do people seek extreme amounts of money? 500 million USD, really?
[img]http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/01/pakistan.drone.attack.lawsuit/t1larg.khan.afp.gi.jpg[/img] He's optimistic looking.
If he wants justice, don't look for it in the form of lots of cash from a world superpower. There's not really a more obvious way of telling the world "I had a tragedy, give me money so I can feel better."
[QUOTE=Devodiere;26463426]If he wants justice, don't look for it in the form of lots of cash from a world superpower. There's not really a more obvious way of telling the world "I had a tragedy, give me money so I can feel better."[/QUOTE] Especially a world superpower who is owned by China, and is also bankrupt.
Law & Order: Collateral Damage
I don't get court cases like this. I can totally understand why he is carrying this out and, in a way, I want him to win so he can be compensated for his terrible loss. But then again... how is this amount of money justifiable? I'm not saying people should be "worth" capital (although sadly, that's how the capitalist world works), but logically speaking this man's sons are not anywhere near $500 million USD. A teacher and a construction worker in Pakistan probably earn a combined sum of less than $10,000 a year. If anything he should be seeking that the drone pilot or, more fittingly, that the guy in charge who gave the go-ahead for the strike should be punished for their mistakes. ... but even then I'm not entirely sure that should happen, because if it wasn't for Pakistan's government being totally incapable of controlling the militant presence in their country then this would never have happened. As you can see, my opinion on this matter is rather split.
[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;26463751]I don't get court cases like this. I can totally understand why he is carrying this out and, in a way, I want him to win so he can be compensated for his terrible loss. But then again... how is this amount of money justifiable? I'm not saying people should be "worth" capital (although sadly, that's how the capitalist world works), but logically speaking this man's sons are not anywhere near $500 million USD. A teacher and a construction worker in Pakistan probably earn a combined sum of less than $10,000 a year. If anything he should be seeking that the drone pilot or, more fittingly, that the guy in charge who gave the go-ahead for the strike should be punished for their mistakes. ... but even then I'm not entirely sure that should happen, because if it wasn't for Pakistan's government being totally incapable of controlling the militant presence in their country then this would never have happened. As you can see, my opinion on this matter is rather split.[/QUOTE]Family is priceless.
[QUOTE=Sporkfire;26457588]Good for him, I hope he wins even though thats unlikely.[/QUOTE] How can it be unlikely?? :( The US killed his family.
[QUOTE=Moby-;26463403]This guy can fuck off. [editline]3rd December 2010[/editline] Your name suits you. Cunt.[/QUOTE] dont feed cuntsman, hes just a retarded ass. I feel like him suing the US just makes us look [I]worse[/I] to other countries, and if he won it will be a big worldwide news thing. :frown:
[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;26463751]I don't get court cases like this. I can totally understand why he is carrying this out and, in a way, I want him to win so he can be compensated for his terrible loss. But then again... how is this amount of money justifiable? I'm not saying people should be "worth" capital (although sadly, that's how the capitalist world works), but logically speaking this man's sons are not anywhere near $500 million USD. A teacher and a construction worker in Pakistan probably earn a combined sum of less than $10,000 a year. If anything he should be seeking that the drone pilot or, more fittingly, that the guy in charge who gave the go-ahead for the strike should be punished for their mistakes. ... but even then I'm not entirely sure that should happen, because if it wasn't for Pakistan's government being totally incapable of controlling the militant presence in their country then this would never have happened. As you can see, my opinion on this matter is rather split.[/QUOTE] What else can you sue them for? Most likely US won't do shit to bring the bad guys to the court. Atleast by suing for money you can repair the damages and help his brother's family. [editline]3rd December 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=c0nk3r;26464032]dont feed cuntsman, hes just a retarded ass.[/QUOTE] Yeah, caring for others other than his own well-being? what a cunt. Get the fuck out
[QUOTE=benzi2k7;26463845]Family is priceless.[/QUOTE] Then why has he named a price?
He's suing for HOW MUCH? Is this guy even sane?
[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;26465647]Then why has he named a price?[/QUOTE] You're right, he should sue for infinity dollars.
That's a lot of money to be suing for. He won't make it.
[QUOTE=Winslow;26457554][img_thumb]http://relentlesspoa.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/ackbar1.gif[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] It's a trap!
[QUOTE=faze;26463421][img_thumb]http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/01/pakistan.drone.attack.lawsuit/t1larg.khan.afp.gi.jpg[/img_thumb] He's optimistic looking.[/QUOTE] He is like :smug: wheres my fucking money.
These drones make it possible for you to be pretty damn sure about a situation before you engage. You can loiter for days, watching from above, unseen and unheard, giving you the luxury of being completely sure about a situation before you strike. If this guy is being honest then it's clearly a case of the operators and mission commander not doing a thorough enough job. Five hundred million dollars is a little exorbitant (understatement of the year), but if these people [i]were[/i] unjustly killed, then the men responsible for their deaths should have to answer for it. I suppose if this gets taken seriously the video from the drone would be used as evidence (all footage is recorded, saved, and filed), and we would be able to determine if the drone teams had probable cause or not. [editline]story time[/editline] Of course, sometimes you don't need very long at all to get clearance to engage. I've seen UAV footage of a man very clearly planting IEDs along the road in the middle of the night. The operators got clearance to fire almost immediately, and [b]'KRAPOW,'[/b] hellfire missile [i]directly to the face.[/i]
Sure thing Akbar. I'll just take your word for it.
Drones cannot loiter for days. A few hours, maybe...
[QUOTE=Ridge;26467979]Drones cannot loiter for days. A few hours, maybe...[/QUOTE] Multiple teams, man. One comes in, the next goes up. You can cover an area for as long you need to. And the larger platforms (Predator, Hunter, ERMP, Global Hawk, etc) can remain airborne for about a day and a half.
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