The international press sites BBC news, Australia Network News, and The Sydney Morning Herald all have the same topic in their news articles. The main subject found in an article on all three sites states about a Military drone of the U.S army has killed Germans in Pakistan. The first article titled, “’German militants’ killed in Pakistan drone attack” the article was posted on October fourth, 2010 appearing in BBC news. The article stated that “at least eight al-Qaeda militants some German nationals were killed during drone attack in Pakistan” the article continues to state that the “U.S drone fired two missiles at a house owned by a local tribesman in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan” the article continues to state that it is believed that the al-Qaeda group is creating a plot to strike against European cities, which has lead the U.S to have more drone’s armed. The house that was hit in the drone attack is stated to have been located in a Village 3km from the main town of Mir Ali. The locals referred to the dead and injured men as “Arabs, but said they did not know their identities” however, “ The BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan states that the local people use the word Arab to describe anyone from the Middle East or even as far as Turkey” the officials have spoken and have stated that, “five of the dead militants were German citizens of Turkish origin and others were local people” while the residents and new states that these drone attacks seem to be counterproductive and puts at risks the citizens, the article states that, “ Western intelligence officials believe that missiles have severely restricted the ability of al-Qaeda to carry out major attacks.” The officials want to prove that the drone is working and that the killings are of Al-Qaeda officials, however the last section in the article states that, “More than 150 people have died in drone strikes this year, including both militants and civilians” this leads to the question of how successful is this drone program if civilians are being killed in the search of terrorists. I understand that the drone doesn’t pick and choose a person to eliminate if in the house, however it does bring up the efficiency of the drone and the safety. The article was good at stating what occurred and really explaining what the different sides were stating about the incident.
The second article that I read was titled, “German nationals killed in Pakistan drone strike” which appeared on the Australian Network News on October 5th, 2010. The article that appears on Australian Network News states that “it is suspected that a US drone strike has killed eight militants including German nationals in northwest Pakistan” this section is the same as the first article except it does not have any reference to al-Qaeda. The article though continues to give more information about the aircraft used in the killings then the first article by stating, “Two missiles were fired from a suspected US pilotless aircraft in North Waziristan” the article not only gave the type of aircraft but also the reasons behind the killings, stating that, “The NATO chief expressed regret for the deaths caused by the air strike, describing the incident as unintended” this contradicts the first article that stated that the attack was intentional since Western officials believed that the house sheltered al-Qaeda officials.
The last article is called, “US drone hit kills Germans in Pakistan” the article was released on October 5th, 2010 and appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald. The article states the same as the res that, “A US drone strike has killed eight militants, including German nationals, in Pakistan” the article added that the location was located in “Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt near the Afghan border” the article continued to state new facts by stating that, “Five German rebels of Turkish origin and three local militants were killed in the strike” the article added that the Germans were rebels and not just German nationals, the article also differed from the rest by stating that they were still looking to investigate the militant group affiliations. The article also added that “ North Waziristan is a renowned hideout for Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked Militants” the article continues to state that Washington officials are pleased in the strikes results stating that, “The strikes have killed a number of high-valued targets including Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, however the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country” the article states the struggle that the US is facing in fighting the terrorists stating that, “Washington has branded the rugged tribal area which lies outside Pakistani government control a global headquarters of Al-qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth” I found this to be interesting for a person that has not gone to Pakistani to know more about the area. The last part of the article was something that was not told by the other article which is that “the drone attack in which German nationals were killed came hours after Japan and Sweden joined Washington and London in issuing an alert warning of a possible terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups against their citizens traveling in Europe” the fact that the terrorist groups are threatening to attack European countries is something to worry about but it is questionable since they don’t always announce threats. The last important thing that I noted is that the article states that, “US channel Fox News citing unnamed intelligence officials said militants had a list of targets in France, Germany including Paris’s Effel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, the city’s central railway station and the Alexanderplatz TV tower” to me this was interesting since they were naming the possible targets but it is still unknown if they will carry out the threats and if they will when. To take the word of a terrorist group that they well do something is hard since you never know.
www.bbc.co.uk
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/us-drone-hit-kills-germans-in-pakistan-officials-20101005-165bs.html
http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201010/3029371.htm?desktop
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