Obama’s Second Term – Drones 1-21-13

21, January 2013 Obama’s second term – drones

President Obama deserves credit for making strong statements against assault weapons which have aborted the lives of some many Americans. However, such statements and policies are incongruent with his policies to equally vulnerable and innocent people in far-away lands who fall victims to our remote weapons of mass destruction. General McChrystal, Ex-Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, became the highest-ranking military official to excoriate Obama’s Drone Warfare.  He stated that "the resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes ... is much greater than the average American appreciates. They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who’ve never seen one or seen the effects of one." Michael Boyle, a former adviser to Obama on security issues, has forcefully come out against drone warfare, saying it is encouraging arms proliferation worldwide while causing unknown civilian casualties.  He stated that “Obama has been just as ruthless and indifferent to the rule of law as his predecessor. ... The consequences can be seen in the targeting of mosques or funeral processions that kill non-combatants and tear at the social fabric of the regions where they occur.” These statements by high profile experts largely confirms the Stanford University/NYU study which estimated that 98% of the drones miss their intended targets and kill innocent men, women and children. President Obama has created a dangerous and an illegal precedent. He would be wise to heed his critics and call an immediate halt to these illegal and immoral weapons.