The Obama Administration Whitewash of Obama Airstrikes

By MARK MEYEROWITZ
Updated: DECEMBER 3, 2016 13:30
 I'm rather old school, and still read paper newspapers. In yesterdays (Nov. 30,2016) Wall Street Journal I came across an innocently titled article "U.S. Notes Errors in Syrian Airstrike."
My mind instantly turned to our Sec. of State John Kerry, and his condemnation of Israel's airstrikes into Gaza in the summer of 2014. Sec. Kerry is quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying, in their July 20, 2014 edition, "It's a hell of a pinpoint operation, it's a hell of a pinpoint operation." 
In yesterday's Wall Street Journal article, reporter Gordon Lubold writes that a US airstrike in Syria mistakenly killed fighters aligned with the Syrian regime instead of terrorists for the Islamic State.
The US could confirm only 15 deaths, but said that there could be more.
To quote the Journal:  "Ultimately we made an unintentional, regrettable error, primarily based on human factors in several areas in the targeting process," said Brig. Gen. Richard Coe, who led the investigation into the incident, in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday."
This is not the first time the US military has killed the wrong targets.
In the November 9, 2016 Washington Post, Missy Ryan writes the following (in bold):
The number of civilian casualties killed by U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria is more than double the previous estimate, U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday, after reexamining its air campaign based on allegations from activist groups.
The announcement of 64 additional deaths brings the total civilian death toll in U.S. air attacks to 119 since the campaign against Islamic State began in 2014, Centcom said. The command, responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle  East, is investigating other allegations.
"Sometimes civilians bear the brunt of military action but we do all we can to minimize those occurrences, even at the cost of sometimes missing the chance to strike valid targets in real time." Col. John Thomas, a Centcom spokesman, said in a statement.
Previously, Centcom had acknowledged only 55 deaths. the result of a lengthy investigative process that critics say has moved too slowly and has given inadequate weight to on-the-ground reports from local media, rights groups and activists. Some advocacy organizations, such as Amnesty International, have put the death toll much higher.
War is war, and civilians tragically get killed even when they are not the intended target. I am not criticizing the US military for these civilian casualties.
But my question goes to Sec. Kerry.... you snickered at Israeli attempts to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza, yet you make no comment on civilian casualties caused by your own military. Why are you silent?
Why is it, Mr. Secretary, that Israel undertook serious investigations of their actions in Gaza. Yet the US seeks to downplay the same tragic results?
And why has Obama and the White House remained silent on this issue. If Pres. Obama wants to protect Islamic lives in America from Americans, shouldn't he also want to protect Islamic lives in Syria and Iraq from Americans? From him?
The conclusion is obvious: the cover up of US civilian casualties, and the condemnation of Israel for civilian casualties, is just another double standard that Obama carries against Israel.