WASHINGTON—Attributing the incident to an unfortunate and
highly out-of-the-ordinary technological malfunction, officials at the
Pentagon apologized this week after a drone strike intended for an ISIS
stronghold in the Middle East nation of Yemen accidentally hit a wedding
in West Palm Beach, FL, killing 17. “Credible information from
operatives on the ground indicated a high-value target on the southern
outskirts of Sana’a, however our Hellfire missiles veered some 7,700
miles off target and, regrettably, struck the Epstein-Miller wedding at
the Breakers Resort and Spa,” said U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.
Mark Welsh, who added that while the military always attempts to
minimize collateral damage inflicted by drones, occasional domestic
tragedies such as this one do occur from time to time, before noting
that the Pentagon was offering “generous” condolence payments to
grieving loved ones for each guest and member of the Tom Vilone
Celebration Band killed. “To the families of Blake and Natalie, you have
our deepest sympathies for the loss of Aunt Jessica, Grandpa Pete, and
the other relatives and friends who died in this terrible accident. And
we want to assure everyone that the U.S. is committed to fully
rebuilding the affected pool and ballroom facilities in a prompt
fashion.” Critics of U.S. military policy said the latest incident of
civilian deaths due to a UAV strike would only serve to further
radicalize residents of the restive Miami-Dade–Broward–Palm Beach region
against the United States government.
