April, 22 2011, 03:55pm EDT
Drone Use in Libya, Pakistan Condemned
WASHINGTON
KATHY KELLY, kathy at vcnv.org
JOSHUA BROLLIER, joshua at vcnv.org
Kelly and Brollier are with Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Kelly was recently in Afghanistan and today will be participating in a demonstration at a drone command base in New York. VCRN just put out a statement condemning "the hypocrisy and immorality of the United States in approving the use of missile-armed Predator drones and other aerial weaponry in Libya for a supposedly humanitarian purpose. While at the same time, the U.S. is carrying out continued drone and aerial attacks [in] Pakistan and Afghanistan, including civilians.
"In the most recent drone attack in N. Waziristan, Pakistan 'killed three civilian women and four children in addition to 18 suspected militants' [LA Times]. This killing came only two days after Pakistani army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, reiterated an appeal to the United States to stop the CIA drone program because the strikes 'not only undermine our national effort against terrorism but turn public support against our efforts.'
"It is unclear just who is being targeted and how many civilian casualties occur in strikes like this one and the March 17th strike killed more than 40 people in the North Waziristan village of Datta Khel. Almost no follow up is done and there is no measure of accountability for these extra-judicial killings being carried out by the CIA.
"Furthermore, the United States and ISAF forces are consistently murdering civilians through aerial attacks in Afghanistan. On April 20, 2011 [Wednesday], NATO warplanes killed three civilians in the Dangam District of Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The United States confirmed the attack occurred and said it was 'still investigating who exactly was killed.' In instances like these where 'suspected militants' are involved, it is unclear how these terms are being defined. Furthermore, we should be mindful of the illegitimacy of U.S./NATO/ISAF presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the first place.
"In resistance to these atrocities, anti-war activists have been participating in a five day peace/anti-drone march from Ithaca, New York, which will culminate today in a demonstration at Hancock Air Field in Syracuse, a site of drone operations." For information about the march, visit VCNR Drone Warfare Resources page: vcnv.org/project/drone-warfare-awareness or contact Kelly who is participating in the march.
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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