Free Republic

Two leading human rights groups released detailed reports on U.S. drone strikes Tuesday that accuse the government of killing civilians and violating international law. The White House admitted killing civilians, but denied breaking the law, saying the strikes were "precise" and "lawful." Amnesty International, which studied 45 drone strikes in Pakistan in 2012 and 2013, said the U.S. violated the internationally recognized “right to life” and may have committed war crimes. “There are real threats to the U.S. in the region,” said Naureen Shah, Amnesty’s advocacy adviser, “but it is hard to imagine that a 68-year-old grandmother or a 14-year-old...

The Pentagon is ordering most of its approximately 400,000 furloughed civilian employees back to work. The decision by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is based on a Pentagon legal interpretation of a law called the Pay Our Military Act. That measure was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama shortly before the partial government shutdown began Tuesday. The law ensured that members of the military, who have remained at work throughout the shutdown, would be paid on time. It also left room for the Pentagon to keep on the job those civilians who provide support to the military.

Al-Qaeda linked terrorists in Syria have beheaded all 24 Syrian passengers traveling from Tartus to Ras al-Ain in northeast of Syria, among them a mother and a 40-days old infant. Gunmen from the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Levant stopped the bus on the road in Talkalakh and killed everyone before setting the bus on fire. According to media reports, the attack was carried out because the passengers who were from three different villages in Ras al-Ain, supported anti-terrorist Kurdish groups which were formed recently to defend Kurdish population against anti-Syria terrorists. Bodies of a mother and her 40-days...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that he has ordered a 20 percent cut in the number of top brass and senior civilians at the Pentagon by 2019, the latest attempt to shrink the military bureaucracy after years of heady growth. Hagel’s directive could force the Pentagon and military command staffs to shed an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 jobs. That’s a tiny percentage of the Defense Department’s 2.1 million active-duty troops and civilian employees, but analysts said it would be a symbolically important trimming of the upper branches of the bureaucracy, which has proved to be resistant to past

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security denied Thursday that its large-scale ammunition purchases were an effort keep bullets out of the hands of private citizens. At a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, top DHS training officer Humberto Medina said he could "say categorically that was not a factor at all" in the purchases. He also noted that ammunition DHS purchased would be used for both operations and training purchases. The Associated Press reported in February that DHS was planning to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds over the next five years, a number that sparked fears of government stockpiling...

PAKTIYA, Afghanistan (July 8, 2011)– An insurgent mortar attack landed in a civilian populated area injuring eight Afghan civilians in Dand Patan district, July 3. At least 3 mortar rounds fired by insurgents resulted in severe injuries requiring medical evacuation. Coalition Special Forces operating near the incident provided first aid and called for a medical evacuation. Four young male children, a female child under the age of 2, one female adult, and two male adults were medically evacuated from the scene by coalition forces to a U.S. military hospital for treatment. The injured had severe shrapnel wounds to the head,...

Human Rights Watch video has posted a video documenting Syrian brutality against peaceful protesters as Syrian President Bashar Assad escalates force, using helicopters to bomb the city of Hama. WARNING: The video includes scenes that are not suitable for young children. Video Friday’s protests were dedicated to the children of the uprising, and The Local Coordinating Committees in Syria reported that more than 72 children have been killed by security forces. “This week, at least seven children died at the hands of the security forces,” the Committees stated, including a 10-year-old who died after her school bus was shelled in...

A video from Syria shows the testimony of a soldier who said Assad’s forces shot at him when he defected after refusing to kill unarmed civilians in the Damascus area. Meanwhile, Syrian secret police and soldiers have arrested 1,000 people in the past two days and have surrounded the city of Banyas.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2011 – Three Afghan civilians were killed by an insurgent attack in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province today as Afghan and international forces increased efforts to squelch enemy fighters, military officials reported. Three Afghan civilians, including a child, were killed and four others were wounded by a roadside bomb in the province’s Kandahar district. Afghan police responded to evacuate the wounded to Mirwais hospital and investigate the blast. Also today, Afghan and coalition troops discovered several weapons and drug caches during separate clearing operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan. In Helmand province’s Sangin district, Kandahar’s Nad-e Ali district and...

A new book about the closing days of WW2 chronicles how German civilians murdered many concentration camp survivors as they moved through their towns and villages on infamous 'death marches' back into the shrinking Reich. The violence shows how even with their nation in ruins, the Allies advancing on all fronts and the war hopeless, ordinary people were so indoctrinated with Nazi hate they were prepared to kill defenceless people in cold blood.

12 US Soldiers are facing trial in the deaths of Afghan civilians - being described as cold-blooded murder.

The Army says four more soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state have been charged with premeditated murder in the killing of three Afghan civilians earlier this year. In all, five soldiers have been charged. All are assigned to the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

KABUL, April 16, 2010 – Afghan and international forces captured several insurgents, evacuated civilians after an explosion, and seized enemy weapons stockpiles in recent operations, military officials in Afghanistan reported. -- A combined Afghan-international security force detained several suspected militants in a rural area of northeaster Marja in Helmand province this morning. -- In the Tarini Kot district of Uruzgan province this morning, a combined force found a 105 mm artillery round, a grenade and four mortar rounds. -- In Kandahar City last night, the International Security Assistance Force helped Afghan forces in evacuating and treating wounded civilians after a...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2010 – NATO’s International Assistance Security Force in Afghanistan is expressing regret over civilian casualties that occurred today after a bus was driven toward a patrol of international troops, military officials said. ISAF officials released a statement that says ISAF “deeply regrets the tragic loss of life” in the Zhari district of Kandahar province early this morning after troops fired at a bus in which the driver ignored warnings and tried to speed into the patrol. Four civilians were killed, five others were treated for injuries at the scene, and 13 people checked themselves into medical facilities...

Nato has confirmed a number of civilians were killed in an air strike in southern Afghanistan on Sunday. Afghan officials say at least 21 civilians died in the attack in Uruzgan province, which is next to Helmand. Nato said it used airborne weapons to engage a convoy of suspected insurgents believed to be en route to an attack. After the strike, ground forces arrived to find "a number of individuals killed and wounded", including women and children, a Nato statement said. Uruzgan province is where the Dutch mission to Afghanistan has been based since 2006, with nearly 2,000 service personnel....

CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, EDINBURGH, Ind., Feb. 18, 2010 – The Civilian Expeditionary Workforce, introduced in January 2009, is up and running at full speed. A range safety official shows Julia Schoenfeld her results after she fired an M-9 pistol. Schoenfeld is with the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce, which trains and equips Department of Defense civiliansto deploy oversees in support of worldwide military missions. She was among the first CEW students who graduated Feb. 3, 2010. U.S. Army photo by T.D. Jackson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. After an intense 10-day course held from Jan. 25 through Feb....

A missile that struck an Afghan house killing 12 people hit its intended target, the commander of British forces in the country's south says. Maj Gen Nick Carter said the rocket had not malfunctioned, adding that the system responsible for firing the US missile was back in use. Officials have said three Taliban, as well as civilians were in the house. US forces have faced some resistance around the Taliban haven of Marjah as Operation Moshtarak continues. The progress of US troops has been hampered by sniper fire and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in some areas. British and Afghan troops...

KABUL, Afghanistan (Jan. 31) - An Afghan-international security force conducted an operation targeting insurgents in Uruzgan province Saturday night. When the unit approached the compound, they received enemy gunfire from several different locations. After returning fire, the gunfire subsided and the joint force conducted damage assessment. Four insurgents were killed. The joint force protected the women and children in the compound, however afterwards one woman with minor wounds and a baby who suffered fatal injuries were found. "We regret this tragic loss of innocent life," said Army Col. Wayne Shanks, an ISAF spokesman. "Our condolences and prayers are with the...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2010 – The commander of day-to-day military operations in Afghanistan condemned a bombing attack on Gardez Bazaar in Afghanistan’s Paktia province today that killed at least four civilians and wounded several others. "The Taliban-led enemy has again demonstrated an absolute disregard for the Afghan people and their lives," said Army Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of International Security Assistance Force Joint Command. "[The command] is monitoring the situation and stands ready to assist our Afghan partners." In other news, military officials said today they’re aware of protests in the streets in Nangarhar province this morning over an...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24, 2009 – Servicemembers and their families continue to enjoy tremendous support from American civilians, but at no time of the year is that support greater than during the holidays. “We learn of citizens’ efforts to support our troops every year, but this year there seems to be a real outpouring of support from not only citizens and nonprofit organizations, but also businesses,” said Adrien Starks, chief of the community relations civic outreach team for the office of the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. “I don’t think people have any idea about the amount of support...