Drone Attacks Damage the US Interests (ongoing additions)

Updating (see end of post)

"...drone strikes by the US ...are contributing to swelling the ranks of terrorists."

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Drone attacks boosting terrorism

By Sajjad Shaukat

PakTribune
Pakistan News Service
Wednesday Aug 29, 2012

The controversial drone strikes by the US spy agency, CIA may have eliminated a number of militants but simultaneously, they are contributing to swelling the ranks of terrorists. The US and its allies have been at war in Afghanistan since 2001 but the first drone strike was not executed till 2004. They remained sporadic till 2008, when President Obama accelerated the number of attacks and 2010 became "year of the drone" when a total of 118 drone strikes were launched, resulting in a maximum number of 993 lives lost.

The controversy regarding the drone strikes is on two accounts, their legality and the number of civilians being eliminated as collateral damage owing to the strikes. The second aspect is being exploited by terror mongers for fresh recruitment, urging the relatives of victims to avenge the death of their loved ones by joining the terror organizations.

As far as the legality of the drone attacks is concerned, the American Civil Liberties Union has taken the position that the administration`s programme of targeted killing outside of armed conflict zones was unlawful. Judicial experts expressing their views before a key congressional committee opine that US drone attacks were illegal because the CIA was using civilian contractors to launch them. Another lawyer argued before the US House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs that while the United States had the right to use the drones, the CIA personnel actually launching the attacks could be guilty of war crimes. A third expert tried to draw parallels between the killings in Fata and targeted killings of bandits loyal to Pancho Villa along the Mexican border in the 19th century. He insisted that current intelligence laws "implicitly" gave the US president the power to launch targeted killings.

Renowned columnist Bill Quigley reminds that assassination by the US government were declared illegal since 1976, when US President Gerald Ford issued Executive Order 11905, Section 5(g), banning them. Drone killings are acts of premeditated murder, which is a crime in all fifty states and under federal criminal law. Quigley quotes a May 2010 report by NYU law professor Philip Alston, the UN special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, who directly questioned the legality of US drone killings, stating that drone killings may be lawful in the context of authorized armed conflict (e.g. Afghanistan where the US sought and received international approval to invade and wage war on another country).

However, the use of drones "far from the battle zone" is highly questionable legally. Referring to Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international affairs and politics at Princeton University, Quigley brings out that the widespread killing of civilians in drone strikes may well constitute war crimes. According to the current US Military Law of War Deskbook, the law of war allows killing only when consistent with four key principles: military necessity, distinction, proportionality, and humanity. These principles preclude both direct targeting of civilians and medical personnel but also set out how much "incidental" loss of civilian life is allowed. Retired US Army Colonel Ann Wright squarely denies the legality of drone warfare, commenting in "Democracy Now": "These drones, you might as well just call them assassination machines. That is what these drones are used for: targeted assassination, extrajudicial ultimate death for people who have not been convicted of anything."

Coming to the more ominous aspect of boosting terrorism, Gareth Porter has carried out research on the real level of civilian casualties in US drone strikes in Pakistan, based on data gathered by a Pakistani lawyer Shahzad Akbar for the families of the victims of drone strikes, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London founded on their interviews with eyewitnesses and others in the areas where the strikes take place. He concludes that the US has been tremendously underplaying the level of civilian casualties by as much as 84 percent.

Porter also concludes that the drone war in Pakistan has created enormous anti-American sentiment throughout the country, particularly, in the areas where the strikes have taken place, they generate not just anger, but the Taliban and al-Qaeda and other groups have been able to generate more enthusiasm for support for the jihadist sentiment that they represent. Pakistan's repeated requests to cease the drone attacks have not only fallen on deaf ears, but to rub salt in the wound, have actually resulted in an acceleration of the frequency of strikes, thus aggravating the issue. The drone attacks is thus boosting terrorism.

For original article GO here paktribune.com or
(Pakistan News Service was founded in 2002)

The writer is a political and defence analyst.

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More REFERENCES to the problems listed above (What is this if not a war crime?):

The "Double Tap" blogdog: U.S. Drone Strikes Hit Mourners & Rescuers AGAIN
blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/ US Drone Strikes Hit Mourners and Resuers
A few days back, President Obama said that US drone attacks in Pakistan had "not caused a huge number of civilian casualties." The misnomer of "militant" for all males of a certain age who happen to live, walk, be in a certain area, along with the "double tap" may be two of many reasons why US news so under-reports the actual casualties.

Also, see article "If Attacking Rescuers and Funerals is Evil When Others Do It, Why is it OK for US? See Jun 8, 2012onth, U.S. drones again began hitting mourners and rescue workers. Also find: CIA KILLS RESCUERS AND FUNERAL GOERS here (CIA kills rescuers and funeral goers.)

Andrew Myers blog, per Aug 28, 2012 --"And herein lies the real function of the American justice system, clearly revealed time and again. It is to protect high-level actors from accountability even for the most egregious of crimes, while severely punishing those who reveal or take a stand against those crimes, thus deterring and intimidating any future opposition." See the same blog, Aug 20, 2012 - – "Drone strikes on funerals and 'double tap' strikes." Once again we act as terrorists by or own definitions.

"Yet more drone strikes" | DAWN.COM (Pakistani) here

"Civilian Deaths From US Drone Attacks Much Higher Than Reported" Truth-Out.org Aug 22, 2012

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ACTIVISTS RAISE CONCERN at Johns Hopkins University which has been doing drone research. This link also covers the Maryland drone crash. Find Crucial & Detailed Drone Info included (reposted from May to August 2012 on NO DRONES MARYLAND GO here

Here's a little more on some of the Johns Hopkins U research (along with the University of Pennsylvania and Boeing)here bluicebank at 7:09 PM August 08, 2012
One of the comments under that posting makes quite a point via sarcasm: "What could possibly go wrong? Because if the accidental killing of women and children by these things has taught us anything, it's that we need a swarm of them that act according to a computer program tailored after how killer bees attack.And when the horrible melee occurs, some genius will declare, "No on could have predicted ..." !!

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PHOTOS and Advocacy of victims

If the following doesn't compel a deeper sense of empathy for families who've been innocently affected by US killer drones -- just what will? GO here

More data, photos and a Pakistani human rights lawyer who represents the voiceless victims of the killer drones: See comments on the Drone Conference in US here and more on photographer of drone victims in Pakistan here

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KATHY KELLY and the CREECH 14 TRIAL transcript now available, 2nd edition by pdf file here (Find more on the Creech event on Wikipedia's entry on Kathy Kelly. Also hear/read the DemocracyNow! interview with Kathy Kelly here -- Find out more about Kelly at her pioneer group: Voices for Creative Non-Violence
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* top drone photo credit I. D. * pirhayati20120216130143327
** the photos of the children are here and were found first here with reference to the Dande Darpa Khel attack. (reposted to August 27, 2012)