Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The deadly convoys of US diplomats around the world

Whenever US diplomats move in their convoys in Lebanon, it is always near-misses.  They are accidents about to happen.  It is the mentality that the safety of the US diplomat is far more important than the lives of the natives.  They often shoot in the air as the cars moves through narrow streets.  I have always argued that American (ostensible) humanitarianism and care are as deadly as US bombs: "As the convoy barreled through a village in northern Cameroon on Monday, a 7-year-old boy darted to the road, excited to see the chain of white S.U.V.s carrying Samantha Power, the first cabinet-level American official to visit the country since 1991.  Distracted by a thundering noise, the boy glanced up at the helicopter providing security from above. Suddenly, he was struck dead — killed by the same convoy that had brought officials to showcase American efforts to help protect West Africa’s women and children.  After hitting the boy, one S.U.V. carrying State Department employees pulled to the side of the road. The rest of the motorcade continued on its way."