Once again our hearts are breaking – this time, with the tragic news of the deaths of at least 73 civilians, including 35 children, as a result of US airstrikes on the village of Tokkhar in Syria. This horrific attack, the deadliest assault on civilians in the military campaign against ISIS to date, happened because our military admittedly made a “mistake” in identifying these men, women, and children as Islamic State combatants.
This latest accidental atrocity in Syria ought to be America’s last. How long will it take before our government learns that bombs do not settle problems? How many more innocent civilians must die before our Commander-In-Chief finally realizes these “mistakes” are only making the problem worse? How many more hospitals will be destroyed and medical personnel and patients killed? How many more women and children must be maimed or killed by Hellfire missiles before the US grounds the drones in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria?
What will a potential President Clinton or Trump do as the War on Terror continues to “come home” to San Bernardino, Beirut, Paris, Istanbul, and Nice? ISIS – a direct outgrowth of the Clinton-supported US invasion and occupation of Iraq – is a force that feeds on the outrage of people on the receiving end of our disastrous, belligerent approach to foreign policy and national security. Clinton’s destruction of Libya added to the chaos by unleashing vast stockpiles of…