War on Terror: Make No Mistake: They Are Killing Us Over There While We Are Killing Them Over There!

Trillion dollar war budgets, endless surveillance, the TSA, the Patriot Act: all in the name of the mortal, mortal, really very seriously mortal, threat of terrorism on the homeland.

John Glaser at Antiwar.com looks at the latest sobering death-by-terror data:

According to the State Department a mere 10 Americans were killed by terrorism in 2012. None of them in the U.S.

U.S. citizens worldwide killed as a result of incidents of terrorism: 10
U.S. citizens worldwide injured as a result of incidents of terrorism: 2
U.S. citizens worldwide kidnapped as a result of incidents of terrorism: 3

Nine out of 10 of those killed were in Afghanistan, the remaining one in Iraq. One of the injured was in Afghanistan, the other in Iraq. The three instances of a single person being kidnapped occurred in Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen.

I don't think I've ever been more tempted to end a post with a rousing "Wake Up Sheeple!" But I'll refrain.

Comments

[Paul.]

Obama is misunderstood.

[JW]

No, I clearly heard him say "Enough is enough! I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE MOTHA FUCKEN TERRORISTS ON THIS MUTHA FUCKIN PLANE! EVERYBODY STRAP IN!

I`m about to open some fuckin drones."

[Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)]

Brian,

Never say "wake up sheeple"!

http://xkcd.com/1013/

[GILMORE]

Everyone knows "sheeple" is a term trademarked by 9/11 Truthers, and is to be reserved largely for use in commenting on Alex Jones YouTube videos.

It is also a sign the person writing it has a 99% chance of being a complete douchebag.

Footnote = I freaking love that graphic and totally want a T-Shirt.

Second footnote = a comment on Blackfive (guilty admission of sometimes reading milblogs) noted that the War on Terror would probably be significantly more cost-efficient if we simply stopped treating Gitmo prisoners like Veal and just let them starve themselves already. *In context of noting most recent 'al q leader' droned in Yemen had been released from Gitmo 5 years ago. like an old fashioned fox-hunt, replacing gentlemen on horseback w/hounds with flying robots shooting hellfire missiles. Equally as 'sporting'.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2.....-in-yemen/

[Agammamon]

Except letting them starve would violate their human rights. And not letting them starve violates their human rights.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Proves we're winning!

[Dweebston]

Precisely. Employing Krugman logic, imagine how much worse the crisis would be if not for the trillion-dollar investment. Plus, all that defense spending buoys up our economy.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Broken Terrorist Window, and all that!

[anon]

Plus, all those drone strikes must've blown up thousands of buildings. Think of all the rebuilding to do, stimulating the economy!

/sic

[Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)]

We're in their base...killin' their d00ds?

[Paul.]

All your democracy are belong to us.

[Episiarch]

This just proves they need more funding, because the numbers aren't zero. If it saves just one life...

[UnCivilServant]

This heat will kill more people in a week than 'Teh terrorizts' got in a year.

We are literally our own worst enemy.

[UnCivilServant]

* Lost a sentence to squirrels - "And the cops got even more".

[Dweebston]

I've got to think that instances of friendly fire on American civilians and contractors abroad outstrips those numbers by an order of magnitude.

[Agammamon]

I've got to think the number of deaths/injuries due to industrial accidents our troops have is greater than those numbers.

[Caleb Turberville]

OT: http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/19/.....?hpt=hp_t1

Now, with the President speaking up, there's no chance that Zimmerman doesn't get harassed...er, "prosecuted"...by the DOJ.

[A Serious Man]

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Friday that "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago" in his first live comments since a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman last weekend in the teenager's shooting death. He also said protests against the verdict should remain nonviolent.

WTF? Whatever happened to the supposed dignity of the office? How hard would it be for the president to say "I'm sorry, but I will not comment on a private criminal matter not involving a member of my administration"?

[Episiarch]

How the hell would he be able to exploit the situation for political gain if he did that? What are you, honest or something?

[Caleb Turberville]

I just don't know anymore.

[Pro Libertate]

Wait, I'm confused. I thought Martin was his illegitimate son. Now he's him? Is he laying the foundation for charging Zimmerman with assassination?

[A Serious Man]

It's the new Holy Trinity: Obama is the Father, the Son (Trayvon), and the Holy Ghost.

[anon]

It's ok, Catholicism confuses even the smartest of us.

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, I see. They are one, yet separate.

[Auric Demonocles]

You need to read more By His Bootstraps.

[Pro Libertate]

And lo, did OBM suffer indignities in the name of His son, whom He acknowledged paternity of only after His Martyrdom, making up His delinquent child support payments forthrightly.

[A Serious Man]

And the Apostle Chris Matthews addressed the crowed and said "Repent! Yea sinners for the Kingdom of Obama is near! The blood of Trayvon wash your white sins away!"

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha! Dignity of the office. Next thing you know, you'll say something about the Executive Branch having limits on its power.

[JW]

Did you honestly expect him to keep his big, stupid mouth shut? The world awaits his Solomonic wisdom! Nay...it NEEDS it.

[JW]

"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago"

If only. Wait, did I type that out loud?

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Niiiiiiice.

[tarran]

"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago"

President Obama is claiming he used to be the sort of person who lies in wait and ambushes people who creep him out and tries to batter them into unconsciousness in a blitz attack?!?

What a fascinating admission!

[scottstams]

No, I think he is sayin that 35 years he used to buy skittles in order to mix with cough syrup to make some really cool purple shit. He had to make this concoction because some hypocrite in the White House refuses to legalize more harmless substances like Marijuana.

[Caleb Turberville]

The line about America needing to do some "soul-searching" is all kinds of political pandering.

The Snowden case should be cause for "soul-searching", not some over-hyped trial in which the jury delivered the correct verdict.

[Episiarch]

Distractions are everything, dude. TEAM OUTRAGE has given Obama the perfect distraction from the real scandals, and he is thrilled.

[Pro Libertate]

Thing is, the other stuff isn't going away. And new scandals appear to be on the horizon.

Sounds like the IRS business could be the beginning of the end, especially if they were really going after candidates and that sort of nonsense. Someone in the chain is going to crack when prison time starts becoming a real possibility.

[JW]

Scandals only have an effect, if only you have even a modicum of shame.

I've detected none within this administration.

[Pro Libertate]

I don't see this ending well for the administration. The investigations are continuing in Congress and, surprisingly, by the media, and it's quite likely the GOP will have control of both houses after 2014. Which means hearings, special prosecutors, and likely impeachment of one or more officials.

It's blindingly obvious that a great deal of corruption and unethical behavior was going on, and it's already highly doubtful from what we know that this doesn't go all the way up.

[ShagNasty]

I would really like to know how many innocent middle eastern civilians have been killed as a result of our war over there. I bet its a lot more than 10. I bet its hundreds, if not thousands of times more than 10. Why are there lives less important than ours?

[The Heresiarch]

Because Mer-ka.

[Dweebston]

I've heard estimates in the hundred-thousand range, but they're the tragic runny yolks of broken eggs necessary to make the delicious freedom omlette for our oppressed Iraqi and Afghani cousins.

And don't you dare suggest their deaths help drive the terroristic impetus against U.S. presence. Civilian deaths occur in a vaccuum with regard to American foreign policy.

[Aresen]

All of those killed by drones were terrorists. (At least since 1/20/09)

Didn't you get the memo?

[Cytotoxic]

They'd kill each other anyway. Our wars probably saved their lives.

[Heroic Mulatto]

They'd kill each other anyway. Our wars probably saved their lives.

So we gave them a common enemy...huzzah?

[anon]

Nothing like killing people to keep them from killing each other!

[tarran]

They'd kill each other anyway. Our wars probably saved their lives.

THIS IS WHAT JIHADIS ACTUALLY BELIEVE!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

So you're saying there are still some terrorists.

[Steve G]

Just think of the damage we could do to terrorism by not being on their soil to begin with

[Cytotoxic]

'Their soil'?

[anon]

Common anti-american sentiment. All soil's ours, we just let them use it!

/sic

[Cytotoxic]

And this low death toll is probably in large part thanks to the proactive use of drones and other high-lethality low-cost actions. Good job everybody.

[Calidissident]

Props to Dweebston. I think we found the Objectivist Krugabe you were looking for

[Episiarch]

And it turns out he is a sociopathic Randian Canadian virgin with a throbbing blueball WAR BONER and delusions of grandeur who constantly refers to the US military as "ours". Which I suppose is fitting.

[JW]

Don't sell him short. He has a proud heritage of pulling the wings off flies and burning ants with magnifying glasses, too.

[tarran]

who constantly refers to the US military as "ours"

I don't see why this is remarkable; everyone knows that Canada has been a territory of the U.S. ever since we invaded them to put an end to the scourge of Terrence and Phillip.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

But then they re-invaded with The Trailer Park Boys, which I just can't fucking recommend enough.

[Dweebston]

Since I was being facetious I'll give Cyto the benefit of the doubt. In fairness, I'm still being facetious.

[anon]

Brian, this is a terrible post. How many people were droned in the same time period?

I don't even have to search to know it's more than 10.

[Auric Demonocles]

You're killing me in the alt-text.

[Pro Libertate]

Say, has anyone considered combining home brewing with alt-text? Thus, malt-text?

[Auric Demonocles]

I have. A few seconds ago when I read your suggestion.

I have an IPA bubbling away right now.

[Agammamon]

"Nine out of 10 of those killed were in Afghanistan, the remaining one in Iraq. One of the injured was in Afghanistan, the other in Iraq. The three instances of a single person being kidnapped occurred in Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen."

See! Our programs work! This is why we need the TSA and PRISM!

[CE]

Have you've already forgotten about Boston? Think how many more Bostons there would be if we hadn't bombed Libya.