This week in 1991, the US bombed an infant formula production plant in Abu Ghraib, Iraq as part of #OperationDesertStorm. The US lied, saying it was a biological weapons facility; however, “It was the only source of infant formula food for children one year and younger in Iraq.”
The US bombing of this vital factory was just one example of how the US war (and sanctions that followed) devastated Iraq’s infrastructure & society.
The White House/military/media all peddled the lie that the facility was producing biological weapons. One CNN reporter visited the facility & found it wasn't producing WMDs. As a result, he was accused of spreading Iraqi propaganda. alternet.org/story/14877/a_…
George W. Bush repeated his father's lie in 2003 in an attempt to demonize Iraq in the run-up to the 2003 US invasion & occupation of Iraq. But an investigation from the CIA found there was no WMDs; it was a lie. cia.gov/library/report…
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On this day in 1863, US Federal troops committed one of the deadliest massacres of Native Americans in US history when they shot, beat, ran down and stabbed, at least 250 starving Shoshone people in what is now Idaho. #BearRiverMassacre
The Bear River Massacre was a surprise attack. The leaders of the Shoshone had failed to properly prepare for the attack because they believed they could negotiate a truce with the troops led Col. Patrick Edward Connor.
The massacre began at 6:00am on a frigid morning. Connor’s 200 men attacked without mercy for over four hours, charging and shooting at every one alive: men, women, and children, all were slaughtered.
On this day in 2017, US SEALs killed 8-year-old American citizen “Nora” Nawar Al-Awlaki along with 24 other civilians, (incl. 9 young children) in a raid on a village in Yemen village. US Apache gunships destroyed entire homes & fired on villagers as they fled.
"Nawar was shot several times, with one bullet piercing her neck. She was bleeding for two hours because it was not possible to get her medical attention,“ Nawar's uncle Ammar Al-Aulaqi said.
Ammar wrote that Nawar’s last words were, “Don't cry mama, I'm fine, I'm fine.”
Nawar's grandfather, told Reuters, "Why kill children? This is the new [US] administration – it's very sad, a big crime."
This Week in 2001: US Military Bombed an Afghan Village, Killing 23 Civilians (Mostly Young Children) open.substack.com/pub/americanva…
Villagers who rushed to assist those injured by the bombing were injured when the US resumed bombing the village once again. Survivors say the US bombed the village a total of three separate times.
Maroof, aged thirty-eight, lived on a farm near the village of Thori. When he rushed to the village the next day, he found villagers digging through the ruble of his relatives’ home. Twelve bodies of his relatives were recovered from the debris of the family compound.
On this day in 1988, the US Navy shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing all 290 people on board (including 66 children). The US attempted to cover-up its responsibility for the atrocity & has never apologized or admitted wrongdoing. Many of the bodies were never found.
Capt. Will Rogers III, who commanded the USS Vincenees, which attacked the airliner was described by others Navy officers as “aggressive”, “trigger happy”, and looking to gain combat experience, even if it meant committing war crimes.
Rogers illegally chased Iranian Navy vessels into Iranian waters, when the electronics on his ship detected a plane, in Iranian airspace, on a regular airline route, leaving at a regularly scheduled time. Capt. Rogers ordered the airline shot down, killing 290 civilians.
On this day in 1991, the U.S. bombed the Amiriya civilian air raid shelter in Iraq, which was sheltering a thousand sleeping civilians, massacring 408 Iraqi civilians (261 women and 52 children).
At 4am on Feb. 13, two US F-117s dropped 2 laser-guided “smart bombs” on the shelter. The 1st, pierced the fortified concrete wall of the shelter, jamming its thick steel doors & trapping everyone inside. The 2nd bomb followed through first hole & exploded deep inside the shelter
The youngest victim was seven days old. Most of the victims were incinerated by the heat of the explosion. The bodies taken out by rescue workers later were charred, unrecognizable, and some were still smoldering. The smell of burned flesh stayed in the neighborhood for days.
On this day in 2017, US SEALs killed 8-year-old American citizen “Nora” Nawar Al-Awlaki along with 24 other civilians, (incl. 9 young children) in a raid on a village in Yemen. U.S. Apache gunships destroyed entire homes and fired on villagers as they fled.
"Nawar was shot several times, with one bullet piercing her neck. She was bleeding for two hours because it was not possible to get her medical attention,“ Nawar's uncle, Ammar Al-Aulaqi said.
Ammar wrote that Nawar’s last words were, “'Don't cry mama, I'm fine, I'm fine.”
Nawar's grandfather, told Reuters, "Why kill children? This is the new [US] administration – it's very sad, a big crime."