Trump Has Killed More Civilians with Illegal Drone Strikes in 9 Months Than Obama Did in 8 Years

While the mainstream media focuses on anything but the current state of U.S. intervention in the Middle East, the Trump Administration is breaking records by accumulating a horrific number of civilian deaths.

Former President Obama earned the nickname of “Drone King” when he dramatically escalated the use of drone strikes, while also downplaying the number of innocent civilians who became “collateral damage.” In the two years that his administration devoted to publicly spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fight the Islamic State group, the estimated civilian death toll ranged from 2,300 to 3,400, according to Airwars, an organization tracking deaths in the war against ISIS.

During @BarackObama"s 29 months at helm of ISIS war we tracked 855 alleged civilian casualty events which likely killed 2298-3398 civilians pic.twitter.com/RUVvcy5zX9

— Airwars (@airwars) August 22, 2017

President Trump has been in office for just 9 months, and he has already surpassed Obama’s murderous record with estimated numbers as high as 4,500 civilian deaths.

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Trump made headlines in December 2015, when he declared that if elected, he would not only kill members of ISIS—he would also “take out their families.” He is following through on that promise, according to a report from Steven Feldstein, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

Feldstein noted that researchers have documented the rise of “frequent killing of entire families in likely coalition airstrikes” under the Trump Administration. This trend led to “the deaths of at least 57 women and 52 children in Iraq and Syria” in May.

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While this may come as no surprise, considering the fact that Trump promised to “bomb the hell out of ISIS” while on the campaign trail, his administration’s offensive against the Islamic State is not the only ongoing war that is killing civilians.

According to a report from United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documenting civilian causalities during the first half of 2017, “aerial operations” led to a “43 percent increase in civilian casualties compared to the first six months of 2016, including a 67 percent increase in civilian deaths.”

While Trump bragged about giving military commanders “total authorization” to make combat decisions in Afghanistan, Washington Rep. Adam Smith said he believes that this move is contributing to the increase in civilian deaths.

“You really have the military making decisions that were designed to be made by the civilian authorities running the military,” Smith said. “We’ve seen an increase in civilian casualties. … I think they’ve become a little too indiscriminate in what they’re doing.”

The report from Feldstein noted that the Trump Administration has “substantially escalated air strikes and bombings” and the U.S. military “has already used 20 percent more missiles and bombs in combined air operations in 2017 than in all of 2016.”

The alarmingly high civilian death toll has continued to build up over the months. For example, from May 23 to June 23 of this year, at least 472 civilians were killed by U.S. airstrikes. That is significantly more than the 459 civilians who have been killed by terrorist attacks in Europe—in the last 12 years.

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While the argument can be made that Trump is doing the same thing Hillary Clinton would have done if she was elected, the question has to asked as to how anyone can justify killing innocent civilians in the first place.

Obama surpassed Bush’s record, and now Trump has surpassed Obama’s record—but the only thing that has actually been “accomplished” is that thousands of innocent civilians have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of civilians have lost their homes and their communities, and the civilians who do survive in the countries the United States is targeting now, will grow up hating America for destroying their home in the name of “Freedom.”

Longest War in US History Turns 16 Today – Thousands Dead, No End in Sight & It’s Getting Worse

On this day 16 years ago, less than one month after 9/11, President George W. Bush delivered a televised address from the White House announcing the beginning of the Afghanistan War.

“On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,” he said.

What Bush did not say was the fact that the War in Afghanistan would become the longest war in United States history. Thousands of American lives and billions of taxpayer dollars would be wasted at the expense of the U.S. war machine, and the “War on Terrorism” would only create more terrorism as a result.

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Over 31,000 civilian deaths have been documented in Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion. It should be noted that over the last few years, civilian deaths have substantially increased—which serves as a reminder that the situation is only getting worse.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began documenting civilian casualties in 2009. The combined number of civilians who were killed and injured that year was nearly 6,000. The number has steadily increased over the years, and in 2016, it reached a record high with nearly 3,500 killed and nearly 8,000 injured.

Image via al-Jazeera

A report from the UNAMA noted that in 2017, the death rate for children has increased by 9 percent over the previous year, and the death rate for women has increased by 23 percent. The report also claimed that an increase in airstrikes has led to a 43 percent increase in causalities.

Before the United States invaded Afghanistan, the production of opium poppies was significantly low, thanks to the Taliban. Not only did the presence of the U.S. military lead to a rise in opium production—because U.S. Marines were literally guarding fields of poppy plants—it led to a drastic increase that has done wonders for the illegal drug trade.

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According to a report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, between 2015 and 2016, opium production in Afghanistan increased by 43 percent, and the area used to farm the poppy plant increased by 10 percent to 201,000 hectares. In response to the report, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said the figures were “a worrying reversal in efforts.”

After 16 years of war and a price tag of over $1 Trillion, the United States has not only helped Afghanistan to become the largest producer of opium in world, it has ensured that the war-ravaged country produces around 90 percent of the world’s opium supply.

When former President Obama ran for office in the 2008 election, he campaigned on the promise of ending the Afghanistan War—which resonated with a number of Americans who were hopeful that a fresh face in the oval office would bring about the “change” needed to finally end the war.

However, while Obama promised to end the war and increased it instead, President Trump has been much more blunt about the fact that the war in Afghanistan is not coming to an end anytime soon, and while the U.S. may have a strategy in mind, it does not appear to include an “exit.”

The longest War in United States history turns 16 years old today, and in just two years, brand new military recruits will have the opportunity to fight in a war that has been ongoing for as long as they have been alive. While there are many Americans who support the concept of military intervention—including in countries that have done nothing to the U.S.—even they should be asking the question of why the United States continues to fight a war that has only created an increase in terrorism, innocent civilian deaths and illegal drug production.

Weeks Before His Assassination, JFK Ordered Full Withdrawal from Vietnam

Before the Gulf of Tonkin incident was used as an excuse to incite major U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, the United States was already deploying thousands of troops to Vietnam—and a recently recovered audio recording reveals that the deployments were occurring against the wishes of the president in office.

Former President John F. Kennedy was planning for a full withdrawal from Vietnam during his last months in office. His exit strategy is featured on the Ken Burns/Lynn Novick documentary series on Vietnam, in an episode that looks at U.S. involvement in Vietnam from when Kennedy took office in January 1961, to when he was assassinated in November 1963.

The episode includes an audio recording from Nov. 4, 1963, in which Kennedy shares his reaction to the military coup d’état that resulted in the assassination of US-backed, South Vietnam leader Ngo Dinh Diem, and his brother Nhu:

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“Over the weekend, the coup in Saigon took place, culminated three months of conversations dividing the government here, and in Saigon. I feel that we must bear a good deal of responsibility for it, beginning with our cable of August, in which we suggested the coup. I should not have given my consent to it without a roundtable conference. I was shocked by the deaths of Diem and Nhu, the way [they were] killed made it particularly abhorrent. The question now is whether the generals can stay together and build a stable government, or whether public opinion in Saigon will turn on this government as repressive and undemocratic in the not-too-distant future.”

While the program glazes over Kennedy’s comments about wanting a full withdrawal from Vietnam, and goes on to talk about his assassination less than three weeks later, his rhetoric is incredibly important.

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“We don’t have a prayer of staying in Vietnam,” Kennedy confided to a friend in April 1963. “Those people hate us. They are going to throw our asses out of there at any point. But I can’t give up that territory to the communists and get the American people to re-elect me.”

According to reports, there were around 3,200 American troops in Vietnam when Kennedy took office in 1961. The number of troops increased to 11,300 in 1962, and then to 16,300 in 1963. But that increase escalated drastically in 1965 with 184,300 troops. By 1968, there were over 536,000 American troops deployed to a country that is smaller than the state of California.

In the months before Kennedy’s assassination, he pushed for his administration to draft a plan for withdrawal from Vietnam. The National Security Action Memorandum was drafted by Secretary of State Robert McNamara and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor.

An audio recording was also released in which Kennedy was heard discussing what led to the approval of NSAM 263 (National Security Action Memorandum), which implemented the plan get out of Vietnam. Only weeks later, Kennedy would be killed.

In a previously classified memorandum to his fellow chiefs that was delivered on Oct. 2, 1963, Taylor wrote:

A program be established to train Vietnamese so that essential functions now performed by U.S. military personnel can be carried out by Vietnamese by the end of 1965. It should be possible to withdraw the bulk of U.S. personnel by that time.

In accordance with the program to train progressively Vietnamese to take over military functions, the Defense Department should announce in the very near future presently prepared plans to withdraw 1000 U.S. military personnel by the end of 1963. This action should be explained in low key as an initial step in a long-term program to replace U.S. personnel with trained Vietnamese without impairment of the war effort.

The idea that Kennedy would push for an end to the United States’ corrupt and troubled involvement in Vietnam is not surprising, considering his ongoing war with the Central Intelligence Agency. However, the fact that Kennedy was pushing for full withdrawal from Vietnam just weeks before he was assassinated, should be noted and remembered. Less than one year later, the Gulf of Tonkin incident served as the perfect false flag to send the U.S. into a war that killed over 58,000 Americans.

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Ron Paul Just Eviscerated Trump’s Hypocritical Afghan War Narrative In An Epic Tweet Storm

President Trump announced his administration’s strategy for the War in Afghanistan on Monday, and Ron Paul responded with a series of Tweets that echo the sentiments many Americans feel towards the longest war in U.S. history that has now spanned three administrations over 16 years, with no end in sight.

The former Republican presidential candidate and Texas congressman began the evening by saying he was “hoping for the best” with Trump’s address to the nation from Fort Meyer Military Base in Arlington, Virginia. Within minutes, Paul followed up with another Tweet that said simply, “Steve Bannon brakes removed. Neocons feeling their oats.”

Hoping for the best in tonight"s @realDonaldTrump speech but fearful that foreign intervention is only going to get worse. #Afghanistan

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

Steve Bannon brakes removed. Neocons feeling their oats.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

As Trump prepared to announce a further extension of the already never-ending war in Afghanistan, he also attempted to pander to the same military personnel who would be leading the charge and risking their lives.

“American patriots from every generation have given their last breath on the battlefield—for our nation and for our freedom,” Trump said. “Through their lives, and though their lives were cut short, in their deeds they achieved total immortality. By following the heroic example of those who fought to preserve our republic, we can find the inspiration our country needs to unify, to heal and to remain one nation under God. The men and women of our military operate as one team, with one shared mission and one shared sense of purpose.”

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Paul responded by noting, “the military personnel are the victims of bad foreign policy.” He also pointed out the current predicament, writing “sad that these wars the politicians argue for are unconstitutional yet we are told we are over there defending the Constitution.”

The military personnel are the victims of bad foreign policy.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

Sad that these wars the politicians argue for are unconstitutional yet we are told we are over there defending the Constitution.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

“My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts,” Trump said next, as the tone of his speech shifted while he flip-flopped on a massive scale and attempted to justify it. “But all my life, I have heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office. In other words, when you are president of the United States.”

Paul replied with, “Mr. President, it’s too bad you do not follow your instincts.”

Mr. President it"s too bad you do not follow your instincts.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

Ironically enough, Trump actually agreed with Ron Paul and publicly declared this on Twitter before bowing down to the neocon pressure in the deep state and putting more American lives at risk and the guaranteed wholesale slaughter of innocent Afghan citizens.

Ron Paul is right when he says we are wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2011

Trump, just like his two most recent predecessors in the white house, used the same rhetoric, saying, “the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable.” He then made another huge flip flop and falsely claimed that “9/11, the worst terrorist attack in our history, was planned and directed from Afghanistan because that country was ruled by a government that gave comfort and shelter to terrorists.”

Paul was quick to hold Trump accountable, writing, “[9/11 was] planned in Afghanistan? What about Saudi Arabia?” followed by “What’s wrong with rapid exit? We just marched in, we can just march out.”

Planned in Afghanistan? What about Saudi Arabia??

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

What"s wrong with rapid exit? We just marched in we can just march out.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

As Trump warned about how even after the U.S. has spent over 16 years in Afghanistan, “today, 20 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The highest concentration in any region anywhere in the world,” Paul noted that Trump’s speech “sounds like pure neocon foreign policy.”

“The promoters of war win. The American people lose,” Paul wrote. “Remember: There was no al-Qaeda until our foolish invasion of Iraq based on neocon lies. The American people deserve to know we are going to war and MUST give you permission through their representatives in Congress.”

So far very discouraging. Sounds like pure neocon foreign policy.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

The promoters of war win. The American people lose. #Afghanistan

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

Remember: there was no al-Qaeda until our foolish invasion of Iraq based on neocon lies.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

The American people deserve to know when we are going to war and MUST give you permission through their representatives in Congress!

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

While Trump’s plan to continue the War in Afghanistan was clear, he provided very few specific details. Some reports estimate that the increase in troops will be around 4,000 more than the 8,500 who are currently stationed in the region.

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However, Paul noted that no matter the number of troops, this speech indicated that the U.S. will continue the same foreign policy under Trump that it has pushed under Bush and Obama, and the same Authorization for Use of Military Force that was created after 9/11 will continue to be used and abused as more innocent civilians die at the hands of power-hungry neoconservatives in the longest war in U.S. history. “More killing is not the road to peace,” Paul wrote.

More killing is not the road to peace.

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) August 22, 2017

YouTube is Now Purging Evidence of War Crimes—Labeling it as ‘Extremist’ Content

Just one month after YouTube deleted a video of the United States air-dropping weapons to ISIS and claimed that it contained “violent or graphic content,” the video platform is now being criticized for implementing a new artificial intelligence program to monitor “extremist” content that is deleting videos that document U.S. war crimes.

The monitoring organization Airwars.org recently reported that its YouTube account had been targeted, just one week after YouTube published a new blog post announcing that it is “developing and implementing cutting-edge machine learning technology designed to help us identify and remove violent extremism and terrorism-related content in a scalable way.”

Airwars raised the issue on Twitter, noting that after approving hundreds of their videos documenting U.S. airstrikes, YouTube has suddenly blocked three videos out of nowhere.  The newly blocked videos showed U.S. coalition airstrikes that were reportedly targeting ISIS, and their dates ranged from August 2015 to March 2016.

Can you work out why @TeamYouTube has banned these three videos? We can"t. Of 100s we have archived since 2014, these 3 blocked this weeek pic.twitter.com/Yu0ZniC6My

— Airwars (@airwars) August 8, 2017

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3rd video also 2016. Again. unclear how this differs from 100s of military videos we"ve archived for public record https://t.co/zFVIkObiS6

— Airwars (@airwars) August 8, 2017

Airwars later posted an update, which said that following the publicity around YouTube’s decision to block the videos, the platform had apparently chosen to remove the ban from the three videos, and it implemented an 18 years and over age restriction. “Adult-only war,” Airwars remarked, noting that “Archiving published Coalition videos creates permanent public record of conflict.”

Update: @YouTube appears to have lifted bans following today"s publicity – though has replaced with an age 18 restriction. Adult-only war. pic.twitter.com/prePjWh8B1

— Airwars (@airwars) August 8, 2017

Chris Woods, the head of Airwars, told Middle East Eye that he is still in negotiations with YouTube over a number of videos, but he sees this trend as one that risks “severely undermining work done by Syrian opposition activists.”

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“I think what’s so troubling about this if we look at the Syrian accounts, this is video chronicling a six or seven-year war, and some of the most important parts of that war from the perspective of Syrians,” Woods said.

Middle East Eye also reported that it has had similar problems with YouTube after the platform removed a number of videos, “some of which were later given age restrictions, some of which remain removed.”

“YouTube told MEE in an email that the video ‘Drone footage by Islamic State shows suicide car attacks on Iraqi forces inside Mosul’ was removed and that YouTube had ‘assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty’ to MEE’s account. The same occurred in the case of ‘Video appears to show Egyptian soldiers carrying out extra-judicial killings.’ MEE lodged an appeal with YouTube and received this response: 

‘After further review of the content, we’ve determined that your video does violate our Community Guidelines and have upheld our original decision. We appreciate your understanding.’ 

Another video, documenting the destruction of Nimrud by IS, which is widely available across the internet, was removed from an MEE staff account, and all appeals were rejected.”

The report from Middle East Eye also claimed that Alexa O’Brien, an American journalist who covered the US prosecution of WikiLeaks’ whistleblower Chelsea Manning, reported on Twitter that the infamous videos released by Manning that showed the U.S. military blatantly committing war crimes were removed from YouTube. Her Twitter account is currently set to private.

As The Free Thought Project has reported, alternative geopolitical analyst “Partisan Girl” revealed that YouTube removed her video showing the U.S. airdropping weapons to ISIS in July, claiming it contained “violent of graphic content” that violated the platform’s community guidelines. “It documented US military airdrops falling into ISIS hands,” She wrote. “Truth is graphic content.”

A video on my channel just got censored by @youtube It documented US military airdrops falling into #ISIS hands! Truth is graphic content. pic.twitter.com/c9oi95ZcND

— Partisangirl 🇸🇾 (@Partisangirl) July 10, 2017

As YouTube continues to remove videos that document both the events of the Syrian War, and evidence of the United State committing war crimes, it is important to remember that the platform still hosts thousands of videos with millions of views that are disguised as child-friendly content, while they actually promote violence, sex and pedophilia.