April, 02 2019, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Toby Blomé: 510-501-5412 or Eleanor Levine: (510) 290-7071
Anti-drone Activists Converge at Creech Drone Base for Week of Protests to Oppose Ever-Expanding Deadly Remote-Controlled U.S. Killer Drone Program that Sacrifices Civilian Lives Around World
Creech Air Force Base Drone Center here is the target of five days of protests, Monday/April 1 through April 5: Anti-war activists, including military veterans, from throughout the U.S. will hold twice daily actions - 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. during commute hours in and out of the Southeast gate.
Arrests are expected.
CREECH AFB, NV
Creech Air Force Base Drone Center here is the target of five days of protests, Monday/April 1 through April 5: Anti-war activists, including military veterans, from throughout the U.S. will hold twice daily actions - 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. during commute hours in and out of the Southeast gate.
Arrests are expected.
The Drone Center at Creech Air Force Base is a key control center in the covert U.S targeted assassination program, using unmanned, remotely controlled drones. At Creech, both the Pentagon and the CIA use the U.S. Air Force to execute their targeted assassinations around the globe.
Under President Trump's Administration, the use of drones to kill military targets has tripled in frequency according to some estimates, but caution has decreased. Just this year President Trump has loosened the oversight of these secret killings by eliminating the requirement placed by the Obama Administration to account for civilian deaths in drone attacks.
The Pentagon and CIA continue to deny any significant civilian deaths from most drone attacks, and often do not even distinguish the use of drones in most of their air strikes. However, a just released Amnesty International Investigative Report on drone killings in Somalia alone indicates that, in fact, significant civilian casualties are occurring. At least 14 civilians were in killed in only five strikes, and the U.S. has engaged in more than 100 drone strikes since 2017.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/03/usa-somalia-shroud-of-secrecy-around-civilian-deaths-masks-possible-war-crimes/
Anti-drone commercials are appearing periodically on CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews and other networks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFj89bOCfgMÂ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNmuSCvR5RM&pbjreload=10
Activists will halt the "Killing Business as Usual" for as long as possible, at Creech Air Force Base, in order to make a strong stance against the immoral and illegal remote killing. (Details to be announced).
Anti-drone peace activists are arriving from as far away as Wisconsin, New Jersey, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, California and Utah to unite and make an ethical stance all week long against these deadly weapons.
This will be the 5th annual twice-yearly national mobilization against drone warfare at Creech, and the 10th Anniversary year that San Francisco CODEPINK has been organizing protests against these inhumane remote killings that are controlled from Creech Air Force Base.
Daily Vigil Themes:
Mon. (4/1) AM: SHUT DOWN CREECH! STOP KILLER DRONES! Protestors will demand base conversion to a facility that serves people and supports human needs. Put an end to cyber warfare! "Drones Make Enemies!" "End the terror of U.S. Drone Attacks." "Drone Attacks are War Crimes."
Tues. (4/2) AM: Funeral Procession with coffins to mourn the deaths of victims of US drone strikes and all U.S. air strikes around the globe. A somber funeral procession along highway 95 at the entrance to Creech: Dressed in black, with white masks, carrying coffins with labels of each of the 7 + countries the US is bombing. "Victims of Terror" Altar: with candles, flowers and names and photos of some of the child and adult victims of U.S. drone attacks, including Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, the 16 yr old American boy killed by a U.S. drone missile in Yemen in 2011.
Wed. (4/3) AM: ARRESTS EXPECTED. Nonviolent Civil Resistance, where activists will risk arrest in order to temporarily halt the "killing business as usual" at Creech AFB. The action will also be a solidarity action for Venezuela, which is currently being threatened by a possible U.S. Coup. Messages: "U.S. Bloody Hands OFF Venezuela!" "Let Venezuela Live." "Not One More War, Not One More Regime Change." In November of last year, Venezuelan President, Juan Maduro, narrowly missed an attempted drone attack on his life. Many suspect the U.S. was involved in that failed assassination attack.
Thurs. (4/4) AM: NO to NATO, YES to PEACE. On the 70th Anniversary year of the founding of NATO, peace activists are calling for worldwide actions against the western military conglomerate known as NATO, that has led aggressive wars on numerous countries around the world, causing immeasurable suffering and death for too many years. This vigil will be a solidarity action in support of this worldwide call to action.
Fri. (4/5) FLY A KITE, NOT A DRONE. In honor of the people of Afghanistan who have suffered horribly from nearly 17 years of U.S. occupation. The western world has not reasonably kept track of the number of lives lost, and number of injuries caused by U.S. drones and conventional weapons used in Afghanistan. However, Afghanistan is "The most droned place in the world." Since kite-flying is a favorite past-time in their culture, our last morning vigil will fill the skies near Creech Air Force Base with color and joy, reminding U.S. troops that the way of peace is one that builds community and love, and joy. There is a better way than the way of war....one that is best for all of us.
"Even our U.S. soldiers are suffering terribly under the ongoing barrage of U.S. drone strikes," says Toby Blome, one of the organizers. "The drone operators return home each day to greet their families after killing remotely all day during their work shifts. This inhuman disconnect leads to untold trauma on their lives as well, causing PTSD, high suicide rates, divorce and other psychological problems amongst them."
Daily afternoon vigils are less structured, except for April 4, when activists will honor Martin Luther King Jr., on the anniversary of his assassination: "The greatest purveyor of violence in the world is my own government." (MLK, 1968)
Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars.
(314) 725-6005LATEST NEWS
'No Longer on the Brink': Top EU Official Blames Israel for Famine in Gaza
"This famine is not a natural disaster. It is not a flaw. It is not an earthquake. It is entirely man-made," said Josep Borrell, the E.U.'s foreign affairs chief.
Mar 18, 2024
The European Union's top foreign affairs official on Monday said that after more than five months of Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid and bombardment of Gaza, the U.S.-backed government has pushed the enclave into famine.
Josep Borrell, the E.U.'s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, demanded that Western governments clearly state the reason that at least two of Gaza's five governorates have now been identified by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification global initiative (IPC) as experiencing famine "with reasonable evidence."
"In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine; we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people," Borrell said in Brussels at a meeting on humanitarian aid for the besieged enclave. "This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war."
"By whom? Let's dare to say by whom. By the one that prevents humanitarian support entering into Gaza," he said, adding that "Israel is provoking famine."
Borrell's remarks signify that the E.U. has now accepted that "that Israel is starving Gaza," said journalist Owen Jones, with "straightforward genocidal intent."
The IPC, which was established in 2004 by the United Nations and international humanitarian groups, said Monday that since the analysis it conducted in December—in which it warned of famine by May if a cessation of hostilities did not take place—the conditions needed to prevent such a catastrophe have not been met.
Famine in Gaza's northern governorates is now projected to take hold between mid-March and May, the IPC said.
"According to the most likely scenario, both North Gaza and Gaza Governorates are classified in IPC Phase 5 (famine) with reasonable evidence, with 70% (around 210,000 people) of the population in IPC Phase 5 (catastrophe)," said the initiative.
The group uses the famine classification when at least one of three conditions has been observed:
- At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food;
- At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition; and
- At least two adults or four children for every 10,000 people die daily from starvation or from disease linked to malnutrition.
At least 27 children in Gaza have now died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to local authorities, as Israel has attacked civilians seeking humanitarian aid numerous times and has blocked deliveries.
The E.U. said Monday that just 100 tonnes of aid per day are reaching Gaza, compared with 500 tonnes that entered the enclave daily before Israel's current bombardment.
The entire population of 2.2 million people is now facing high levels of "acute food insecurity," according to the IPC.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, head of the pediatric department at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, told Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) that the facility is seeing the daily effects of Israel's blocking of aid.
“Amid the famine in the north, there are many cases of elderly people and especially children showing symptoms of dehydration and malnutrition," said the doctor. "Twenty-five to 30 children are admitted to the hospital on a daily basis, with half of them suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. One child, two months old, died today because of dehydration and malnutrition. Other children are on the same trajectory unless the situation is addressed soon."
Meanwhile, he said, medical workers themselves are "suffering from physical weakness and extreme exhaustion" as they try to treat people injured in relentless bombings and gunfire.
“As a medical team managing the hospital, we have not been able to secure even one meal," said Abu Safiya. "Our staff are worn out working 24/7 without food."
Borrell pointed to recent comments by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Scholz warned: "We cannot stand by and watch Palestinians starve."
"This famine is not a natural disaster. It is not a flaw. It is not an earthquake. It is entirely man-made," said Borrell. "Chancellor Scholz is saying Europeans cannot sit and watch Palestinian starving, when on the other side of the border there is food for months accumulated in stocks, while on the other side of the road there are people dying of hunger."
Rose Caldwell, CEO of children's rights group Plan International, added that the "entirely man-made catastrophe should be a source of shame for the international community."
"After months of unimaginable trauma and indiscriminate bombing, the children of Gaza are now facing the horror of starvation and the threat of imminent famine," said Caldwell. "There can be no excuses: preventing access for humanitarian aid is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is illegal and immoral."
The IPC has classified only two other humanitarian crises as famines: one in Somalia, which killed 490,000 people in 2011, and one in South Sudan, which killed 80,000 people in 2017.
At least 31,726 Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces since it began its bombardment.
"Before the war, Gaza was the greatest open air prison," said Borrell. "Today it is the greatest open air graveyard."
Melanie Ward, CEO of MAP, noted that the organization warned in January that its physicians were seeing evidence of severe malnutrition in children.
"World leaders have fiddled at the edges rather than take decisive action which addresses the cause of this starvation," said Ward. "Now world leaders must insist that Israel immediately opens all land crossings into Gaza, particularly the Karni and Erez crossings, and allows safe and unfettered access for aid and aid workers."
"Children in Gaza are being starved at the fastest rate the world has ever known," she added, "and their survival depends on more food, fuel, and water entering Gaza immediately, as well as a lasting cease-fire."
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Oxfam Says Israel 'Actively Hindering' Aid to Gaza in Violation of ICJ Order
"There is an indisputable, man-made, intentional deprivation of aid that continues to suck the life out of any and all humanitarian operations, including our own," said one campaigner.
Mar 18, 2024
The Israeli government is intentionally restricting the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by subjecting shipments to a prolonged and dysfunctional inspection process, arbitrarily rejecting items, attacking aid convoys, and limiting the number of crossings through which deliveries can pass, Oxfam International said in a report published late Sunday.
The report, titled Inflicting Unprecedented Suffering and Destruction, argues that Israel's continued obstruction of humanitarian aid is a direct violation of both international humanitarian law (IHL) and a January order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled the Israeli government is "plausibly" committing genocide in Gaza and must ensure that assistance reaches desperate Gazans.
Oxfam said Sunday that "humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip has effectively worsened" since the ICJ handed down its interim order nearly two months ago, and conditions on the ground in the Palestinian territory have deteriorated rapidly. New data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) shows that Gaza's "entire population" is facing "high levels of acute food insecurity" and 1.1 million people are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger—a figure that one expert called "unprecedented."
"The ICJ order should have shocked Israeli leaders to change course, but since then conditions in Gaza have actually worsened," said Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's Middle East and North Africa director. "The fact that other governments have not challenged Israel hard enough, but instead turned to less effective methods like airdrops and maritime corridors is a huge red flag, signaling that Israel continues to deny the full potential of better ways to deliver more aid."
"Israeli authorities are not only failing to facilitate the international aid effort but are actively hindering it," Abi Khalil added. "We believe that Israel is failing to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide."
In its new report, Oxfam outlines seven ways in which the Israeli government is impeding humanitarian aid shipments and exacerbating one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in modern history:
In February—the first full month after the ICJ's order—Israel allowed just 2,874 aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip, a 44% decline compared to the previous month, according to Oxfam.
The group said Israeli authorities "have rejected a warehouse full of international aid including oxygen, incubators, and Oxfam water and sanitation gear, all of which is now stockpiled at Al Arish just 40 kilometers away from the border of 2.3 million desperate Palestinians in Gaza."
Israel's military, which is armed by the U.S. and other major countries that are legally obligated to prevent genocide, has also blocked humanitarian staff from entering Gaza, adding "pressure and workload" to already overwhelmed aid efforts, Oxfam said.
Celine Maayeh, advocacy and research officer at Juzoor for Health and Social Development—an Oxfam partner organization—said Sunday that "there's been an alarming increase in cases of malnutrition among children in the last month, and yet the only food the team is able to find to feed people living in 45 shelters is some vegetables."
"There is an indisputable, man-made, intentional deprivation of aid that continues to suck the life out of any and all humanitarian operations, including our own," said Maayeh.
"If a famine is declared, it will already be too late for too many people—children are famine's first victims and are already dying in Gaza because of malnutrition."
Oxfam's findings are consistent with those of other aid organizations and lawmakers who have visited the region in recent weeks.
In January, U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters that they witnessed "miles of backed-up trucks" stuck at border crossings as Gazans nearby struggled to survive, eating grass and drinking contaminated water.
The senators said they saw one warehouse full of items that Israeli authorities rejected in their inspection process, including oxygen cylinders and medical kits used for delivering babies.
Van Hollen said the warehouse was "a testament to the arbitrariness" of Israel's inspections.
Oxfam argued Sunday that the "only meaningful solution" to Gaza's intensifying humanitarian emergency is "an immediate, permanent, and unconditional cease-fire."
"Even the trickle of aid that a humanitarian response could provide under the current circumstances is being further obstructed by Israel's policies and practices, inflicting suffering on millions of Palestinians who are living under Israeli bombardment without access to food, clean water, and medical care," the group said.
Xavier Joubert, country director for Save the Children in the occupied Palestinian territory, echoed Oxfam's call for a cease-fire and warned in response to the new IPC figures that "we have a clear timeframe to stave off famine, and it demands urgency."
"If a famine is declared, it will already be too late for too many people—children are famine's first victims and are already dying in Gaza because of malnutrition," said Joubert. "Every minute counts for them. It should be on the collective conscience of Israeli authorities and the international community that every day without an immediate, definitive cease-fire and unfettered access for and to humanitarian aid is another catastrophic day of starvation and suffering, another step towards famine, and another death knell for Gaza's children."
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Warren Says Trump Will 'Try to Ban Abortion Nationwide' If He Regains Power
"Donald Trump is proud that he overturned Roe v. Wade, he's proud he ripped away a fundamental freedom from millions of women," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Mar 18, 2024
Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned Sunday that Donald Trump will aggressively pursue a national abortion ban if elected to another term after the former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee boasted about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade—a move that opened the floodgates for draconian attacks on reproductive rights across the country.
Trump nominated three of the five Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe in 2022, and he stacked lower federal courts with far-right extremists.
In a Fox News interview that aired Sunday, Trump said the justices "did something that from a lot of standpoints is extremely good" and repeated commonplace right-wing lies that Democrats support infanticide—claims that are frequently used to justify further rollbacks of reproductive freedoms. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case brought by right-wing groups that could dramatically weaken access to medication abortion.
The former president said he will be deciding "pretty soon" on a specific abortion policy for his 2024 campaign for the White House. The New York Timesreported last month that Trump has told advisers and allies that he "likes the idea of a 16-week national abortion ban with three exceptions, in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother."
Asked during the Fox News interview whether he thinks a 16-week abortion ban would be "politically acceptable," Trump responded, "We're gonna find out."
Trump's campaign previously dismissed the Times reporting as "fake news."
Trump on if a national 16 week abortion ban would be politically acceptable: "We're gonna find out."
He then lies about Democrats supporting the murder of born babies. pic.twitter.com/B5e41m9ftm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2024
Warren (D-Mass.) said in response that "Donald Trump is proud that he overturned Roe v. Wade, he's proud he ripped away a fundamental freedom from millions of women, and if he regains power, he will go even further and try to ban abortion nationwide."
"By overturning Roe, Trump put judges and politicians in the driver's seat of women and their families' most personal healthcare decisions," said Warren. "He opened the door to even more extreme restrictions on our freedoms: criminalizing doctors, passing bans with no exceptions, and restricting access to IVF—and he brags about it."
"Trump said we're going to find out if the country will accept his plans for a national abortion ban, and he's right," the senator added. "He's going to find out this November when the majority of Americans who support reproductive freedom turn out to send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House and remind Donald Trump that we will not go back—not now, not ever."
"As Project 2025 makes clear, opponents will not stop until abortion is banned and out of reach in all 50 states."
Right-wing groups, including the coalition known as Project 2025, have been working for months on a range of proposals that would further curtail reproductive freedoms at the federal level and undercut people's ability to receive basic medical care.
"In emerging plans that involve everything from the EPA to the Federal Trade Commission to the Postal Service, nearly 100 anti-abortion and conservative groups are mapping out ways the next president can use the sprawling federal bureaucracy to curb abortion access," Politicoreported last month. "Many of the policies they advocate are ones Trump implemented in his first term and President Joe Biden rescinded—rules that would have a far greater impact in a post-Roe landscape. Other items on the wish list are new, ranging from efforts to undo state and federal programs promoting access to abortion to a de facto national ban. But all have one thing in common: They don't require congressional approval."
Project 2025, a coalition of dozens of right-wing groups—including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and other anti-abortion organizations—is "drafting executive orders to roll back Biden-era policies that have expanded abortion access, such as making abortions available in some circumstances at VA hospitals," and "collecting resumes from conservative activists interested in becoming political appointees or career civil servants and training them to use overlooked levers of agency power to curb abortion access," according to Politico.
"Donald Trump is to blame for the ongoing abortion access crisis," Planned Parenthood Votes said in a statement earlier this month. "Because of his first-term actions, 21 states—and counting—now ban some or all abortion; and one in three women are blocked from access in their home states. As Project 2025 makes clear, opponents will not stop until abortion is banned and out of reach in all 50 states."
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