By Matt Underwood Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane killing 11 people in September. The core of this issue, and the thing that’s really sticking in my craw, is the accusation that the Pentagon deployed an aircraft disguised as a civilian plane in September, resulting in the deaths of 11 people. This raises some serious questions, not the least of which is, why?
U.S. military manuals, steeped in the laws of war, explicitly condemn perfidy. Perfidy, in this context, is when a combatant intentionally feigns civilian status, tricking their opponent into lowering their guard. Military handbooks emphasize the importance of distinguishing military forces from civilians. The underlying concern is that if you blur the lines, you’re essentially inviting your enemies to target civilian aircraft, assuming they could be military in disguise. This, put simply, is wrong, and it is against the established rules of engagement.
This isn’t about some obscure technicality; these rules exist for a very good reason. They are in place for the protection of civilians and to promote some semblance of order and honor on the battlefield. The apparent use of a civilian-looking aircraft to launch an attack strikes me as a cynical move. Why bother with the deception if you already have a massive advantage? It feels like they’re intentionally provoking a dangerous reaction, incentivizing the targeting of civilian aircraft, putting innocent lives at risk. It’s a blatant disregard for the existing rules and a potential breach of ethical conduct.
The potential for this operation to be a war crime looms large. The act of disguising a military aircraft as a civilian one, with the express purpose of carrying out an attack, appears to fit the definition of perfidy. This is not some gray area. It’s clear-cut. The individuals involved should be held accountable, perhaps even prosecuted for war crimes, because we simply cannot allow this type of conduct to be normalized.
It’s worth mentioning that some speculate on the possible actors, with the CIA being one of the potential instigators. With plausible deniability, using a disguised aircraft would allow them to take out specific targets.
There are also the lingering questions of the target and the intended objective. If you’re going to launch an attack with a single missile from a civilian-looking aircraft, what are you hoping to achieve? To be clear, the whole situation is extremely troubling. The idea that this administration is not being honest and is committing war crimes is a disturbing reality.
There’s talk of the aircraft, possibly a P-8, and of the Trump administration, especially some comments from individuals like Pete Hegseth, who, by their own words and actions, seem to embrace a philosophy of “maximum lethality, not tepid legality”. This is not a good look, and it certainly doesn’t align with the principles of honorable warfare.
I find it particularly disturbing that the US military appears to be spiraling into dishonor. And it does seem as though it is intentionally being done. The fact that the military would turn around and fire a follow-up strike on those two survivors adds an extra layer of brutality. It’s almost as if they are actively trying to commit war crimes, as though they consider it an afterthought.
The White House’s refusal to comment just adds fuel to the fire. It’s an admission that something is amiss, that there’s something to hide. It’s an indictment of the people and the principles that were supposed to guide us.
It’s clear that the aircraft wasn’t just painted in “usual military style,” as we’ve no idea what it actually looked like. The only thing we know is that it was attempting to masquerade as a civilian aircraft, and that the act itself is a war crime.
It goes without saying that anyone who thinks this is okay is either misinformed or simply lacks any sense of basic human decency. When we use civilian aircraft as a shield, we are effectively inviting others to shoot down civilian planes, which puts everyone at risk. The use of “perfidy” is a tool of cowards. Those who are responsible should be held accountable. And if not, they should be stripped of their positions, and maybe even arrested. The U.S. is becoming more akin to Russia in many ways, with blatant war crimes and shady military activities. It is a terrifying descent into barbarism.
I read one story about how one engineer refused to comply with using plywood to make a ship appear to be something that it wasn’t. This engineer rightly recognized the danger and refused to be party to any activity that could put civilians in the crosshairs.
And, as if this whole mess couldn’t get worse, we have a commentator who constantly talks about the “warrior ethic” while simultaneously trampling on the accepted “honorable” methods of conducting warfare. This is an indictment of the warrior ethic, not a defense of it.
If we don’t hold them accountable, if we simply sweep their crimes under the rug, we’re inviting this to happen again. We must, as a society, confront these accusations, investigate them, and bring the responsible parties to justice. The future of our country depends on it.