Endless War in the Drone Age

Medea Benjamin

• Public tired of war: 2012 Washington Post poll 66% say war not worth fighting, including Republicans

Drones to the rescue….

Disasters of Iraq/Afghanistan/ threat of war with Iran/intervention in Syria?

Pentagon: 50 drones in 2000 about 10,000 today

Polls in US: Feb 2012, 83% approval

Feb 2013, 56% approval

Non-military uses:• Forest fires• Finding illegal

loggers/whalers• Search and rescue

missions• Commercial

purposes• DIY Drones hobbyists

Lethal Predator and Reaper drones are made by General Atomics

Remote control pilots

Kill List—high value targetsNumber of named militant leaders killed

2004-2012: 50

Represent 2% of drone fatalities

Where has the US conducted drone strikes?

• Iraq• Afghanistan• Libya• Pakistan• Yemen• Somalia• Philippines• Mali?

Where does the US have overseas drone bases?Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (for Yemen), Djbouti (for Somalia), Seychelles (off coast of E Africa), Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Turkey, Australia (Cocos Islands)

Missiles released in Afghanistan

(info scrubbed by Air Force in March

2013) 2009 2010 2011 2012 TOTAL–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 257 279 294 506 1336

Known US covert drone strikes: Pakistan January 2004 – June 2013

Total US drone strikes: 370 (Obama: 318)

Total reported killed: 2,548 – 3,539

Total children reported killed: 168-197

Source: Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Photos the American public never sees

“I was made an orphan by drones.”

Noor Behram photographs drone victims

August 23, 2010

Syed Wali

• 5 houses targeted believed to be of Haqqani network

• Killed mostly woman and children

• No prominent Taliban/AQ leader was killed

Bismillah family, killed by drone strike on August 23, 2010

Maezol Khan, 8 years old, killed Feb 14, 2009

Nasir Khan (left), Naeem Khan

Meeting with Kareem Khan in Islamabad

Kareem Khan’s compound hit on Dec. 31, 2009

Karem’s brother Asif Iqbal & son Zaheenullah, killed by drone strike

March 17, 2011 Jirga attack killed over 40, including large number of elders,

left seeking revenge

Pakistani teenager Tariq Aziz gets journalist

training in Islamabad—could have been captured

Tariq killed in drone strike

October 30, 2011, two days after the gathering

Living Under Drones• Study by Stanford/NYU law schools

• US drone strike policies cause harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians

• terrorize men, women, and children• make them afraid to assist injured victims

• shy away from gathering in groups• some parents keep their children out of

school• family members afraid to attend funerals

Response from Pakistanis

• Initial agreement behind the scenes• Later called for halt—Parliament voted unanimously• Peshawar High Court ruling• Elections: Nawaz Sharif, protested after taking office• People protest regularly—Imran Khan

Imran Khan’s Peace March to Waziristan, October 8, 2012

Known US covert drone strikes: Yemen January 2002 – June

2013

Total US drone strikes: 46-99

Total reported killed: 284-454

Farea al-Muslimi testifies in Congress

April 23, 2013

US citizens killed: Anwar Al-Awlaki, Samir Khan, Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki

16-year-old born in Denver, killed in Yemen on October 14, 2 weeks after his father was killed by a

drone strike

Former White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs, asked to justify the killing of the younger al-Awlaki, said, “I would suggest that you should have a far more responsible father.”

International law• Can act in self defense if there is an

imminent threat• “anticipatory self-defense” is illegal

In Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, US not engaged in authorized armed conflict

Ultimate Question

•Would the US allow any other country to fire drones into US against our citizens?

• Global Proliferation• 76 countries; main producers US, Israel, China• Israel is number 1 exporter• Iran producing spy drones

Government entities: -FBI-Border patrol-Homeland Security -US Air Force -Forest Service

Companies:-General Atomics -Honeywell-Raytheon

Universities:-Cornell -Johns Hopkins-Arizona -Colorado-Connecticut-Florida-Wisconsin

Police Departments:-Gadsden in Alabama-Miami -Houston -Little Rock

Drones coming home… About 1,000 permits granted since 2009 by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). About 330 current.Sampling of FAA permits:

Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Drone Caucus

Mission statement of the drone caucus: to address “The urgent need to rapidly develop and deploy more unmanned systems in support of ongoing civil, military and law enforcement operations.”

Feb. 14, 2012 new legislation passed, signed by Obama

ShadowHawk drone with Montgomery County,

Texas SWAT team members

What can we do about drones?

• Educate yourself and others--buy book• Join Drones Watch (droneswatch.org) KILLING OVERSEAS:• Protests at bases, manufacturers • Get drones out of CIA hands• Organize faith-based community• Pressure White House/Congress • International convention ICRACDOMESTIC USE• Local, resolutions Drone-Free Zones• Statewide and national billsGLOBAL GATHERING Nov. 29-Dec 1 LONDON

www.CODEPINK.org/drones

www.DRONESWATCH.org