4,
November 2013 Drones
The U.S. drone policy is facing unprecedented world-wide
criticism. Human Rights Watch lambasted U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. Pakistani
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged President Obama to end drone strikes in
Pakistan. The U.S. has used its usual arm twisting check book diplomacy to
silence critics. Both HRW and A.I. regard drone strikes amount to extrajudicial
killings and therefore constitute war crimes.
Former U.S. Air Force pilot Brandon Bryant who served as
a sensor operator for the Predator program from 2007 to 2011 was critical of
the drone’s alleged accuracy. He admitted that official reports did not reflect
the true reality of civilian deaths.
The government has consistently refused to provide any
corroborating evidence to back its claim for drone’s accuracy. Conversely, A.I.
and HRW has marshaled impressive evidence to highlight the destructive nature
of drones.
There is little doubt that drones have fueled seething
hostility and are counterproductive. Imagine how we would respond emotionally
if we witnessed our loved ones blown to pieces by a drone attack. Close family
members from Pakistan of an grandmother who was blown to tiny fragments
appeared before Congress to plead for an immediate end to drone warfare. A
recent documentary, "Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars," captures the
horrors of these terrifying weapons. It has just come to light that the US has
set aside $40 million to compensate victims of drone strikes. Thus far not a
single dime has been paid out.
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