How the U.S. Hid an Airstrike That Killed Dozens of Civilians in Syria

This blog entry provides a sarcastic gloss while citing a NYT report that shows how good journalism should work. The article is subtitled "The military never conducted an independent investigation into a 2019 bombing on the last bastion of the Islamic State, despite concerns about a secretive commando force." It covers a lot of ground.

My basic take is that it shows the cloudness of armed conflict, especially in today's battles against insurgent forces. So at one point: "As for the other 60 people killed, the statement said it was not clear that they were civilians, in part because women and children in the Islamic State sometimes took up arms." We need clarity here to help judge our policies. Hiding details in part leads to "Trump is more peaceful" framing as the blog suggests.

One reply to me flagging that talked about some of them having skittles. Uh huh. Women and even children (who can be in their mid-teens) very well do "take up arms" and so on. Sometimes, even when strong criticism is warranted, there is a bit too much knee-jerk. It sort of triggers me a bit, though I'm careful not to take things too far. If pressed, many will admit their comments are partially lacking in nuance. Others? Oh well.