It was no ordinary tragedy—an explosion tore through the residential building where the festivities were underway—it annihilated the roof, blew out the windows, and inflicted severe structural damage—the symbolic manifestation of which is a deep crater. The gargantuan explosion was triggered by an American munition—either a glide bomb or a cruise missile.
In the aftermath, over five people are dead, including two innocent boys, aged 4 and 16, along with multiple women. A 22-year-old woman was critically injured who later succumbed to her wounds, bringing the death toll to five. To make matters worse, more than 60 people were wounded, with the victims suffering from severe trauma, shrapnel wounds, and injuries caused by the collapsing concrete and debris.
Evasion of Accountability
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) declared that while it was “aware” of reports of such a strike, the American military “does not target civilians.” It claimed that the ultimate target was a nearby communications tower, and that this attack was “collateral damage.” The very nature of this admission not only speaks volumes of the incompetence and insensitivity of the so-called “great American armed forces,” but it is also reflective of how little value Washington attaches to the lives of the “others.”
For Washington, which claims that it does not target civilians, the track record is not really substantiating its claims. How can the global community in their right mind forget the Minab school tragedy where one hundred and forty innocent schoolchildren died in the blink of an eye in a similar American airstrike, but one of greater magnitude and impact?
How can the world forget the dozens of civilian lives lost in American drone operations across the world? The MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper variants of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) that are serving as America’s “angels of death” in the world have a long and horrendous track record of civilian deaths, while professing to target “militants” and “terrorists” that pose a threat to Washington’s national security interests.
A lack of institutional mechanisms and channels to hold the perpetrators of heinous crimes like these accountable is symptomatic of Uncle Sam’s trigger-happy attitude. Technical analysis of the fragments of the missile, geometry of the large crater caused by the impact of the explosion, and patterns of the blast recovered from the site—evaluated by independent explosive ordnance disposal specialists—reveals a chilling reality — when the world’s so-called most advanced military boasts of accuracy through concepts like “sanitised nature of an operation,” it is not a display of statesmanship or bravery—it is the manifestation of systematic recklessness where civilians are “legitimate targets” even though international covenants prohibit their targeting.
It reinforces this message—if you are living in a densely populated area where vital military assets are situated, it is your mistake. We will do what it takes to strike the target; we don’t care if you live or die—the mission comes first!
Lessons Washington Won’t Learn
It appears as if the preacher of democracy is not really good at internalizing the lessons of history. History has taught us that the more atrocities you commit against a population, the harder the ensuing resistance will be. Washington clearly cannot obliterate the political reality of the Middle East—every strike will bring about a resolute and harder response. This, therefore, directly feeds into the never-ending vicious cycle of strikes, counter-strikes, and lives lost, thereby not only signalling the utter failure of American deterrence but also the attempts by Washington to project power in the turbulent region.
Pranay Kumar Shome, a research analyst who is a PhD candidate at Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India
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