Dr. Aafia Siddiqui: Sentencing Date Changed to September 23, 2010

Photo credit goes to Justice for Aafia website/campaign
See article about a rally against renditions with support for Aafia here

SOURCE for Sentencing Date Change is Free Aafia (Aafia's Family's Official Site) GO here

Please pass this on: Most US Media is AVOIDING the Aafia Siddiqui Case, is Dragging Heels, Knows Nothing and has little to nothing in the way of facts.

For a brief Introduction in this horrific case, GO to items by Steven Lendman
here

SEE VIDEO here or here

Interview with lawyer-observer and journalist on Democracy Now! right after the trial here

Interview with Dr. Aafia's Brother and others on Fact Vs Fiction here

Find more reports old and new coming soon on this blogsite...

Wars Don't Make Heroes By William J. Astore Tom Dispatch

"Here, then, is what I mean by “hero”: someone who behaves selflessly, usually at considerable personal risk and sacrifice, to comfort or empower others and to make the world a better place." (Excerpt from article below)

The author is a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) and TomDispatch regular. William J. Astore teaches History at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. He welcomes reader feedback at wjastore@gmail.com.

Check out the latest TomCast audio interview in which Astore discusses heroism and the military by clicking here or to download to your iPod GO here

William J. Astore: “Our American Heroes”: Why It’s Wrong to Equate Military Service with Heroism

July 23, 2010

By William J. Astore

When I was a kid in the nineteen seventies, I loved reading accounts of American heroism from World War II. I remember being riveted by a book about the staunch Marine defenders of Wake Island and inspired by John F. Kennedy’s exploits saving the sailors he commanded on PT-109. Closer to home, I had an uncle—like so many vets of that war, relatively silent on his own experiences—who had been at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, and then fought them in a brutal campaign on Guadalcanal, where he earned a Bronze Star. Such men seemed like heroes to me, so it came as something of a shock when, in 1980, I first heard Yoda’s summary of war in The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker, if you remember, tells the wizened Jedi master that he seeks “a great warrior.” “Wars not make one great,” Yoda replies.

Okay, it was George Lucas talking, I suppose, but I was struck by the truth of that statement. Of course, my little epiphany didn’t come just because of Yoda or Lucas. By my late teens, even as I was gearing up for a career in the military, I had already begun to wonder about the common ethos that linked heroism to military service and war. Certainly, military service (especially the life-and-death struggles of combat) provides an occasion for the exercise of heroism, but even then I instinctively knew that it didn’t constitute heroism.

Ever since the events of 9/11, there’s been an almost religious veneration of U.S. service members as “Our American Heroes” (as a well-intentioned sign puts it at my local post office). That a snappy uniform or even intense combat in far-off countries don’t magically transform troops into heroes seems a simple point to make, but it’s one worth making again and again, and not only to impressionable, military-worshipping teenagers.

Whether in the military or in civilian life, heroes are rare—indeed, all-too-rare. Heck, that’s the reason we celebrate them. They’re the very best of us, which means they can’t be all of us.

Here, then, is what I mean by “hero”: someone who behaves selflessly, usually at considerable personal risk and sacrifice, to comfort or empower others and to make the world a better place. Heroes, of course, come in all sizes, shapes, ages, and colors, most of them looking nothing like John Wayne or John Rambo or GI Joe (or Jane).

“Hero,” sadly, is now used far too cavalierly. Sportscasters, for example, routinely refer to highly paid jocks who hit walk-off home runs or score game-winning touchdowns as heroes. Even though I come from a family of firefighters (and one police officer), the most heroic person I’ve ever known was neither a firefighter nor a cop nor a jock: She was my mother, a homemaker who raised five kids and endured without complaint the ravages of cancer in the nineteen seventies, with its then crude chemotherapy regimen, its painful cobalt treatments, the collateral damage of loss of hair, vitality, and lucidity. In refusing to rail against her fate or to take her pain out on others, she set an example of selfless courage and heroism I’ll never forget.

Hometown Heroes in Uniform

In local post offices, as well as on local city streets here in central Pennsylvania, I see many reminders that our troops are “hometown heroes.” Official military photos of these young enlistees catch my eye, a few smiling, most looking into the camera with faces of grim resolve tinged with pride at having completed basic training. Once upon a time, as the military dean of students at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, I looked into such faces in the flesh, congratulating young service members for their effort and spirit.

Here, then, is what I mean by “hero”: someone who behaves selflessly, usually at considerable personal risk and sacrifice, to comfort or empower others and to make the world a better place.

I was proud of them then; I still am. But here’s a fact I suspect our troops might be among the first to embrace: the act of joining the military does not make you a hero, nor does the act of serving in combat. Whether in the military or in civilian life, heroes are rare—indeed, all-too-rare. Heck, that’s the reason we celebrate them. They’re the very best of us, which means they can’t be all of us.

Still, even if elevating our troops to hero status has become something of a national mania, is there really any harm done? What’s wrong with praising our troops to the rafters? What’s wrong with adding them to our pantheon of heroes?

The short answer is: There’s a good deal wrong, and a good deal of harm done, not so much to them as to us.

To wit:

*By making our military a league of heroes, we ensure that the brutalizing aspects and effects of war will be played down. In celebrating isolated heroic feats, we often forget that war is guaranteed to degrade humanity. “War,” as writer and cultural historian Louis Menand noted, “is specially terrible not because it destroys human beings, who can be destroyed in plenty of other ways, but because it turns human beings into destroyers.”

When we create a legion of heroes in our minds, we blind ourselves to evidence of their destructive, sometimes atrocious, behavior. Heroes, after all, don’t commit atrocities. They don’t, for instance, dig bullets out of pregnant women’s bodies in an attempt to cover up deadly mistakes. They don’t fire on a good Samaritan and his two children as he attempts to aid a grievously wounded civilian. Such atrocities and murderous blunders, so common to war’s brutal chaos, produce cognitive dissonance in the minds of many Americans who simply can’t imagine their “heroes” killing innocents. How much easier it is to see the acts of violence of our troops as necessary, admirable, even noble.

*By making our military generically heroic, we act to prolong our wars. By seeing war as essentially heroic theater, we esteem it even as we excuse it. Consider, for example, Germany during World War I, a subject I’ve studied and written about. Now, as then, and here, as there, the notion of war as heroic theater became common. And when that happens, war’s worst excesses are conveniently softened on the “home front,” which only contributes to more war-making. As the historian Robert Weldon Whalen noted of those German soldiers of nearly a century ago, “The young men in field-grey were, first of all, not just soldiers, but young heroes, Junge Helden. They fought in the heroes’ zone, Heldenzone, and performed heroic deeds, Heldentaten. Wounded, they shed hero’s blood, Heldenblut, and if they died, they suffered a hero’s death, Heldentod, and were buried in a hero’s grave, Heldengrab.” The overuse of helden as a modifier to ennoble German militarism during World War I may prove grating to our ears today, but honestly, is it that much different from America’s own celebration of our troops as young heroes (with all the attendant rites)?

*By insisting programmatically on American military heroism, we also lay a firm foundation for potentially dangerous post-war myths, especially of the blame-mongering “stab-in-the-back” variety. After all, once you have a league of heroes, how can you assign responsibility for costly, debilitating, perhaps even lost wars to them? It’s just a fact that heroes don’t lose. And if they’re not responsible, and their brilliant, super-competent leaders (General “King David” Petraeus springs to mind) aren’t responsible—patriotic elements on the “home front,” especially since we’re not likely to credit our enemies for much. By definition, cravenly hiding among civilians as they do, our enemies are just about incapable of behaving heroically.

Of Young Heroes and Front Pigs

In rejecting the “heroic” label, don’t think we’d be insulting our troops. Quite the opposite: we’d be making common cause with them, for most of our troops undoubtedly already reject the “hero” label, just as the young “heroes” of Germany did in 1917-18. With the typical sardonic humor of front-line soldiers, they preferred the less comforting, if far more realistically descriptive label (given their grim situation in the trenches) of “front pigs.”

Whatever nationality they may be, troops at the front know the score. Even as our media and our culture seek to elevate our troops into the pantheon of demi-gods, our “front pigs” carry on, plying an ancient and brutal trade. Most simply want to survive and come home with their bodies, their minds, and their buddies intact. Part of the world’s deadliest war machine, they are naturally concerned first about saving their own skins, and only secondarily worried about the lives of others. This is not beastliness. Nor is it heroism. It’s simply a front pig’s nature.

So, next time you talk to our soldiers, Marines, sailors, or airmen, do them (and your country) a small favor. Thank them for their service. Let them know that you appreciate them. Just don’t call them heroes.

Copyright 2010 William J. Astore

This essay originally appeared at Tomdispatch.com and while this does not represent my view completely, highlights one of the greatest problems with ending war. This piece could lead to some interesting discussions.

From Tom Dispatch host:

[Note for TomDispatch readers: If you have a moment, check out my latest piece, "Advice for General Petraeus on the Rules of Engagement: It's Neither/Nor, Not Either/Or." It appeared Tuesday at Juan Cole’s invaluable Informed Comment website as part of my minuscule campaign to get word out about my new book, The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s. You can check out the first reviews of the book by clicking here. The next TomDispatch piece will be posted Monday on a slightly slower summer schedule.]

GO here for not only the article but also the discussion which does look at various sides...

UPDATE: VOTE NO TO WAR TODAY! (Three Crucial Votes)

Keep Watching firedoglake.com CLICK here for full reports just now coming in on these various votes...WE MUST NOT GIVE UP!

US National Call-In Days Through – Wednesday 28th (But plz call-in Tuesday if at all possible) CALL Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 - ASK for your Legislators in House/Senate - Then ask for the likeliest Representatives/Senators in your State and beyond. BE sure to say you represent (number of adult residents in your family or household..UPS # of votes to defund war and related legislation)

AGAIN: Plz: Call Your Congressional Legislators and others in
your State or US at large at (202) 224-3121.

IN A NUTSHELL: PLZ Ask HOUSE legislators to Vote: 1) NO on Supplemental $33 Billion Funding for yet MORE War & 2) YES to House Resolution HCR 301 TO WITHDRAW US MILITARY FROM PAKISTAN.

In SENATE call legislators TUESDAY AS WELL OR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Sign our petition at DISCLOSEAct.com Then call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to ensure your SENATORS support the DISCLOSE Act (S. 3295). (To vote with the Disclose Act would DIS-allow corporations (including foreign companies and GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS) to secretly spend millions of dollars for or against candidates for public office.

PLZ cut/paste above AND GET OUT THE WORD! Or SIMPLY refer your lists/contacts to http://oneheartforpeace.blogspot.com or TOP item on http://www.nomorecrusades.blogspot.com for TUESDAY
(References on both blogsites to follow)

A little more explanation below:

TODAY (NOW) ON THREE VOTES - two in the House and one in the Senate (If you get here in time & want to help change devastating US Policies which help keep the Oil Crusades & designs for ongoing Empire mentality going suggestions as follows). For each of these there are references to follow...

MORE DETAIL ON THE THREE VOTES:

FIRST:
Pull U.S. Troops Out of Pakistan

The House is expected to debate and vote on Tuesday on a privileged resolution (HCR 301) introduced by Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul to remove U.S. forces from Pakistan. The resolution directs the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from Pakistan. On this one we want to ask for Yes votes.

Call Congress (202) 224-3121.

SECOND:

Tuesday Vote Expected on War Escalation Funding

Here's where the hypocrisy hits the highway. On July 1st, 162 congress members voted to require a withdrawal plan and end date for the occupation of Afghanistan, and 100 voted to fund only withdrawal, no continuation of war, while 25 voted to simply stop dumping any money into this war.

Now all of them must vote yes or no, probably on Tuesday, on whether to fund a major escalation of the war in Afghanistan. URGENT NOTICE: this $33 billion is to add 30,000 troops plus contractors to the war.

...The House will likely now vote on the Senate version of the war escalation supplemental. (Could mean the unusual)straightforward vote in which yes means yes more war, and no means no.

Whether we block the bill or not, we will now be able to identify clearly and unambiguously the war supporters and war opponents....

Our message is simple:

Vote no on funding this escalation of war, regardless of whether it's a procedural vote, and regardless of any good measures attached to it. If you vote yes, plan on getting a different job in January.

...toll-free number to call your representative: 1-888-493-5443, or use the standard number (202) 224-3121.

THIRD: "Toothpaste" vote REMINDER just in from Senator Russ FIENGOLD:

The DISCLOSE Act is up for a crucial procedural vote tomorrow afternoon...

Please click here to sign our petition at DISCLOSEAct.com Then call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to ensure your SENATORS support the DISCLOSE Act (S. 3295).

If we don't pass the DISCLOSE Act, the Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United decision will stand unchecked -- allowing corporations (including foreign companies and GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS) to secretly spend millions of dollars for or against candidates for public office.

So pick up the phone and let your Senators know that you're one of the over 25,000 citizens who have signed the DISCLOSEact.com petition. And make sure they're aware that 80% of Americans oppose the Citizens United decision, which unleashed unbridled corporate spending in elections.1

Thank you for taking action -- and urging my colleagues to do right by the American people tomorrow afternoon.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold
United States Senator

On Thurs, Apr 26, 2010, Sens. Patrick Leahy, Chuck Schumer, & Russ Feingold wrote "Vote for toothpaste":

...We are part of a group of senators fighting to rein in the increased influence of special interest money this decision will unleash and save our electoral process.

To combat the new, unregulated corporate influence over elections, we just unveiled the DISCLOSE Act -- because Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections.

But without your support, our legislation is never going to win the day -- we need to build support all around the country, and we need your help to do it.

...As President Obama has said, the Supreme Court has given "a green light to a new stampede of special interest money."

But this decision doesn't just affect elections. It has the potential to change the very way we live in America.

Think about it: When you buy toothpaste now, the money you spend can be used directly for television ads attacking people that you believe in without you even knowing...

We all have to get in this battle, and we all have to fight it from every angle.

...To rein in the new powers the Supreme Court has given corporations to spend unlimited funds to influence elections, we have come up with a package of reforms that should greatly limit the damage:

* Make CEOs and other leaders take responsibility for their ads by appearing on-camera to deliver the same "I approved this message" disclaimer that political candidates must make.
* Enhance funding disclosures so the American people can follow the money.
* Keep foreign countries and entities from determining the outcome of our elections.
* Alert shareholders and group members to where money goes.
* Keep taxpayer money from being spent on political ads.
* Keep special interests from drowning out the voices of the people.
* Make sure corporations can't "sponsor" a candidate.

...together, we can do this.

Sincerely,

Chuck Schumer
U.S. Senator
Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
Russ Feingold
U.S. Senator

END of the THREE VOTES LIKELY SOON...regardless of outcome, DON'T QUIT on these and check out WHO VOTES FOR WHAT in US CONGRESS. Time is well-past for CITIZENS to take back the BEST our Nation may still have to offer her citizens and the world at large...which AIN'T WAR and Scheming Contractors!

========================================
REFERENCES HERE (I am providing URLS both easy to use by email, cut & paste or for easy live click on blogsite):

FOR ONGOING ANTI-WAR ACTION INFO, GO TO WarIsACrime.org CLICK here

Video of Congressman KUCINICH DISCUSSING BOTH the first two WAR-RELATED votes described FOR THE HOUSE MENTIONED ABOVE http://pdamerica.org CLICK here

SEE David Swanson and Dennis Kucinich who were on Lila Garrett's radio show on Monday.

ARCHIVES/resources from http://defundwar.org CLICK here

Resolutions passed at the National Peace Conference should now be posted or should be ASAP at http://warisacrime.org CLICK here

Please help us inform you of activities in your town by logging in at
http://afterdowningstreet.org or CLICK here

For Background on earlier Congressional voting on War Funding and various related items see http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/8834/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2090 or CLICK here

GO to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-hayden# or CLICK here for earlier posting here on No More Crusades: War funding is no longer automatic Tuesday, July 6, 2010. (Tom Hayden in The Nation). Reps. Barbara Lee, Jerrold Nadler, Maxine Waters and John Conyers or GO to item posted in Huff Post for July 22, 2010 | 04:55 PM (EST) THE SORROWS OF WAR Over 1000 American Troop Suicides By Tom Hayden American soldier suicides...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-hayden or CLICK here

LOOK FOR MORE REFERENCES AT NOMORECRUSADES.blogspot.com

UPDATED: IBNE Safi : (last update 6th August) GEO TV has released entire set of documentaries

IBNE SAFI - Tribute by GEO TV

COMPLETE SET of documentaries just released Geo Tv Documentary - 5 Complete Episodes, Links are Given Below (plz correct via comment any mistakes)

امین صدر الدین سے ہماری صاحب سلامت محض 24 گھنٹے قبل ہوئی اور عزیزی ڈاکٹر بخاری کے توسط سے یہ معلوم ہوا کہ امین صاحب نے جیو ٹی وی کا جناب ابن صفی پر بنایا معرکتہ آلارا
پروگرام 5 اقساط میں شامل کردیا۔ امین ایٹلانٹا (جارجیا) میں رہائش پذیر ہیں، بنیادی تعلق
کراچی سے ہے۔ متذکرہ لنک حاضر ہیں

If you have any difficulty downloading, check to make sure your Adobe or other viewing apparatus is updated.

1) here
2) here
3) here
4) here
5) here

Pictoral Tribute and more from Mr. Rashid here

Youtube Direct Link:
here

Geo Tv has just released the first two segments of their documentary.
GO here and here

TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND
IBNE SAFI. (1928-1980)Photo credit to official site GO here

Most links on this post are courtesy of Rashid Ashraf Sahib and you may want to find more here
Dr. Ahmad Safi (son of Ibne Safi) with Rashid Ashraf Sahib at Mr. Ashraf's residence during activities related to the aired tribute.

See Older Links at end of this post.

"House of Fear" (First English edition of an Ibne Safi novel) is now on sale at Liberty Books. lease see note by Dr. Ahmad Safi at the end of this post.

Find Link to Most Recent Clip from Monday 26th July here " (More items to be updated soon)


Credit for the portrait of Ibn-e-Safi goes to the official home page

Letter to Fans - from son of Ibne Safi, Dr. Ahmad Safi:

All fans of Ibne Safi would be delighted to know that Ibne Safi's First Translation "House of Fear" (Khaufnak Imarat/Chattanon maen Fire - Imran Series) is now on Sale at Liberty Books.

It ranks sixth in their Top Ten list on July 4th, 2010

Also it is interesting to note that in the same list, the British Mystery writer Jeffery Archer sits at the ninth position...

It is also to be noted that this is first Ibne Safi translation on sale in Pakistan and has already made the top ten list of one of the largest booksellers in Pakistan... history repeats

A. Safi

Liberty Books Info here and find under Crime Thriller and House of fear

NOTE from this oneheartforpeace blogger:
For earlier related posts which go into a little more detail concerning how many ways Ibne Safi has contributed to the education, values and deep understanding of international awareness, foundational values, reading and interpreting even current trends, please go to the archives for end of June 23 and find others for Ibne Safi Or CLICK here Also find another post on Ibne Safi in the April archives for this onehearforpeace blogsite - Try Clicking here Understanding that this prolific writer was beyond mere entertainment is what holds the mesmerized interest of many readers all over Asia and soon this will be the case in the West and elsewhere.

More links from Mr. Rashid:

(URDU)VOA News (Urdu)CLICK here

Thearynews.com here and

Karachiupdates.com here

Yours for Happy and Informative Reading!

IBNE SAFI tribute: Wednesday 11:05 pm Karachi Time (originally by GEO TV)

TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND
IBNE SAFI. (1928-1980)Photo credit to official site GO here

WEDNESDAY Update THANKS to GEO TV there is to be a Re-Broadcast of Tribute 11:05 PM Karachi time Wednesday. For more information CLICK here NOTE that the Documentary was originally telecast by GEO TV

Dr. Ahmad Safi (son of Ibne Safi) with Rashid Ashraf Sahib at Mr. Ashraf's residence during activities related to the aired tribute.

New Links added Wednesday Thanx to Mr. Rashid:

(URDU)VOA News (Urdu)CLICK here

Thearynews.com here and

Karachiupdates.com here

"House of Fear" (First English edition of an Ibne Safi novel) is now on sale at Liberty Books. Please see note by Dr. Ahmad Safi at the end of this post.

Find Link to Most Recent Clip from Monday 26th July here " (More items to be updated soon)

One more Link with more information here

Items above are courtesy of Rashid Ashraf Sahib - who sent the following earlier:

The date and timings are as under:

July 26, 2010 on Monday: 4.05 PM to 5.00 PM By GEO TV
Repeat Telecast: July 28: Wednesday: 11.05 PM - 12.00 PM
In this program you will have the opportunity to see & hear members of Ibne Safi's family along with some other eminent personalities.

Regards
RASHID ASHRAF

Thursday, July 22, 2010


Credit for the portrait of Ibn-e-Safi goes to the official home page

Letter to Fans - from son of Ibne Safi, Dr. Ahmad Safi:

All fans of Ibne Safi would be delighted to know that Ibne Safi's First Translation "House of Fear" (Khaufnak Imarat/ChattanoN maeN Fire - Imran Series) is now on Sale at Liberty Books.

It ranks sixth in their Top Ten list on July 4th, 2010

Also it is interesting to note that in the same list, the British Mystery writer Jeffery Archer sits at the ninth position...

It is also to be noted that this is first Ibne Safi translation on sale in Pakistan and has already made the top ten list of one of the largest booksellers in Pakistan... history repeats

A. Safi

Liberty Books Info here

NOTE from this oneheartforpeace blogger:
For earlier related posts go to the archives for end of June 23 and find others for Ibne Safi Or CLICK here Also find another post on Ibne Safi in the April archives for this onehearforpeace blogsite - Try Clicking here

Immorality of US DRONES (Growing Number of Protests)

photo internet cache

Image 2 Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: hyperion327

See Related Items at end of this post but given the Israeli Connection of Drones (see references below) -here's one I just saw today by Jonathan Cook here Israel’s New “Video Game” Executions

NOTE: There has been some legal activity regarding the courageous activists who protested drones in Nevada since the writing of this article which will be posted here or at here

EXCERPT from article below

Richard Falk (international lawyer)said protesters like the Creech 14 can have an impact on U.S. foreign policies, particularly in legally and morally nebulous situations like the American drone fleet and the rising number of innocent civilian deaths that result from its use.

"I've analogized [the use of drones] to torture, where the victims have no retaliatory capability. It's why people view torture with a certain moral abhorrence. And while [potential war crimes by the U.S. military] isn't new, as one moves further and further into this domain of one-sided warfare, it's really better understood by the terminology of massacre."

The Big Guns
by JASON WHITED : JWHITED@LVCITYLIFE.COM

Peace protesters arrested at drone warfare center now face trespass charges

An upcoming trial for activists who illegally entered Creech Air Force Base to protest the government's use of unmanned aerial vehicles has caught the attention of United Nations officials and could have serious implications for the future of remote-controlled warfare.

In April 2009, 14 activists who had gathered here from across the country illegally entered the base's gates and refused to leave in protest of Creech's role as the little-known headquarters for U.S. military operations involving unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, over Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

Held at gunpoint by Air Force security police until officers from Metro and the Nevada Highway Patrol handcuffed them and took them to the Clark County Detention Center, the activists now face a September trial on misdemeanor trespassing charges.

The activists, whose ranks include members of the local anti-war group the Nevada Desert Experience, had been holding a 10-day peace vigil outside Creech to protest both the use of drones by military and CIA officials and the deaths of hundreds of innocent Iraqi, Afghan and Pakistani civilians they say have been murdered by the unmanned craft.

Activists said they were gladly willing to risk arrest and prosecution -- and will continue to do so -- in order to alert taxpayers to the U.S. government's taste for this particularly insidious form of warfare now being waged from just outside Sin City.

"It's just something that has clearly made killing so much easier," said Iowa-based activist Brian Terrell, one of the so-called Creech 14 now facing charges. "Removing a combatant from the battlefield has a certain coldness, a weirdness about it. The idea that someone is sitting at a console at Creech and shooting missiles at people half a world away is very spooky."

Spooky, and very possibly illegal, particularly in the cases of hundreds of innocent civilians who've been killed by drones, according to a growing number of international observers.

"These issues raise questions about the law of war and whether you can target nonmilitary personnel who are not engaged in actual combat," said Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international affairs and politics at Princeton University and the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Occupied Palestine.

Falk said he hopes to testify at the Creech 14 trial in September on potential legal problems with the use of drones. He said his work, which has also focused heavily on similar, so-called targeted killings of Palestinian militants by Israeli officials, has convinced him that drone strikes also raise serious questions of potential war crimes by U.S. military personnel.

"There are two fundamental concerns. One is embarking on this sort of automated warfare in ways that further dehumanize the process of armed conflict in ways that I think have disturbing implications for the future," Falk said. "Related to that are the concerns I've had recently with my preoccupation with the occupation of Gaza of a one-sided warfare where the high-tech side decides how to inflict pain and suffering on the other side that is, essentially, helpless."

While few, including activists, would accuse al-Qaida militants of being helpless, critics have charged those who suffer most from American drone strikes are the Iraqi, Afghan and Pakistani peasants unlucky enough to live across an entire region now considered a war zone by leaders in Washington, D.C.

Since the United States first used drone strikes in November 2002 to kill an al-Qaida leader allegedly responsible for the 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing, both the military and the CIA have spent billions acquiring squadrons of the craft to target alleged terrorists and insurgents overseas.

Press reports and independent human rights groups estimate American drones have killed hundreds of Afghan and Pakistani nationals since then, souring relations with those two nations. A July 2009 report from the Brookings Institution found that for every supposed terrorist killed by a drone strike, more than 10 Afghan or Pakistani civilians have been killed, a figure that topped 600 at last count.

Activists agreed with Falk that drones dehumanize killing and said that sense of removal will only ensure future abuses by the U.S. military. That's why they came to Creech to protest, activists said.

"They're not only flying drones in Iraq and Afghanistan from Creech, but they're also training people there to fly them. When you stand outside the gates you can see drones taking off all the time there. No one except the military is really sure where all this is leading," Terrell said.

For years, Creech has been ground zero for the government's rapidly expanding use of the unmanned vehicles.

There, amid the high, craggy desert plateaus, pilots with the Air Force's 432nd Wing continuously fly a fleet of more than 100 drones over large swaths of Southwest Asia and beyond -- all from a fleet of nondescript, air-conditioned trailers on this quiet military outpost. Exact details are classified, but base insiders say, at any given time, Creech pilots fly at least 36 unmanned Predators and their beefed-up cousins, Reapers. Cutting-edge satellite technology enables Creech pilots to drop the thousands of pounds of bombs many of their drones carry with barely a two-second delay -- all with the twist of a joystick and the push of a button.

Perhaps if military officials were more careful to avoid killing civilians with drones, activists wouldn't be so quick to sound the alarm, many of them said.

But activists also reserved some of their complaints for Clark County District Attorney David Roger. They said Roger's decision to prosecute them, while not dissuading hardcore protesters from demonstrating in the future, could have a chilling effect on average citizens who decide to demonstrate against this new type of warfare being waged in their name, with their tax dollars.

It's a charge Roger strongly denies.

"We don't have any particular animus toward these protesters, but these citations were submitted to our office, and we felt we could prove [the case] beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.

Activists, however, contend Roger's decision to prosecute the Creech 14 represents a larger pattern at work. Across the country, they said, prosecutors and judges are doing all they can to throw activists in jail in an effort to tamp down a growing domestic anger at the warlike policies of both the Bush and Obama administrations.

Court documents from across the country, and press reports from organizations such as Democracy Now and the Tucson, Ariz.-based Nuclear Resister, do show an increase in the number of protesters now facing charges for anti-war activities. While official figures from the FBI for 2010 aren't yet available, court documents from Fort Benning, Ga., to Lancaster, Penn., show rising numbers of anti-war demonstrators either face charges or are already behind bars for trespassing onto U.S. bases or staging sit-ins at military recruiting stations.

Another problem with the way Roger's office handled the case, activists said, is they almost didn't find out about their upcoming trial at all. They never received a letter or a phone call from anyone at the DA's office alerting them that they were, in fact, being charged.

This problem of gaps in defendant notification has long been reported by defense attorneys across Southern Nevada. It's a problem Roger said has now been corrected.

"We have suffered cutbacks; right now, we have lost about 60 positions, and some of those positions were in our case assessment unit (the office that notifies defendants of pending charges) ... we mail them to defendants at their last known address, but if they've moved, our only alternative is to seek a bench warrant," he said.

Trial or no trial, demonstrators said, neither prosecutors nor drones will dissuade them from staging future protests at Creech.

"People who perform arrest actions or risk prosecution are counseled or coached to be ready for the worst-case scenario," said Jim Haber, coordinator for the Nevada Desert Experience. "But prosecutions like this do reduce the number of people willing to risk it."

And that's a shame, according to scholars like Falk and others. He said protesters like the Creech 14 can have an impact on U.S. foreign policies, particularly in legally and morally nebulous situations like the American drone fleet and the rising number of innocent civilian deaths that result from its use.

"I've analogized [the use of drones] to torture, where the victims have no retaliatory capability. It's why people view torture with a certain moral abhorrence. And while [potential war crimes by the U.S. military] isn't new, as one moves further and further into this domain of one-sided warfare, it's really better understood by the terminology of massacre."

Last updated on Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 12:10 am Find the original publication
here

RELATED:

UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston Responds to US Defense of using Drones...
here

POTA DC - July 8, 2010 - Anti-Drone Protest Video (many legal ways to protest as well. This is a great little video of how to do this.) Jul 8, 2010 ... General Atomics is the manufacturer of the Predator Drone UAVs. Predator Drone UAV Hellfire Democracy Now! Thursday, July 8, 2010 ...
here

Drones and Death: The Israeli Connection | Dissident Voice
Jan 30, 2010 ... Drones are remote-controlled airborne robots. ... Posted by beverly on 07/18/2010 at 4:54pm; Democracy Now provides news not heard in the here (Go to January 30, 2010 in archives yet take a look at the newer items as well.)

t r u t h o u t | Drones and Democracy (Kathy Kelly and her associates have been at the helm of Drone protests for some time and Kelly does a fine job of reporting as well.) TUESDAY 20 JULY 2010. Share. Drones and Democracy. Sunday 23 May 2010. by: Kathy Kelly and Joshua Brollier, t r u t h o u t | Report here

US Detainee Omar Khadr's "Statement of Non-Cooperation..."

UPDATED (See end) Photo: from The Globe and Mail

Omar Khadr's "Statement of Non-Cooperation with the Military Commission,"

"Your honor, I'm boycotting this Military Commission because:

* Firstly: the unfairness and unjustness of it. I say this because not one of the laywers I've had, or human rights organization or any person ever say that this commission is fair or working for justice, but on the contrary they say it is unfair and unjust and has been constructed to convict detainees not to find the truth. (So how can I ask for justice from a process that does not have it or offer it?) ...to accomplish political and public goal? What I mean is, when I was offered a plea bargain it was up to 30 years -- of which I was going to spend only 5 years. So I asked why the 30 years? I was told it "make the US government look good in the public's eyes" and other political goals.

* Secondly: The unfairness of the rules that will make a person so depressed that he will admit to allegations made upon him or take a plea offers that will satisfy the US government -- and get him the least sentence possible and legitimize the sham process.

Therefore, I will not willingly let the US gov use me to fulfill its goal. I have been used too many times when I was a child and that’s why I'm here taking blame and paying for things I didn't have a choice in doing but was told to do by elders.

* Lastly: I will not take any plea offer because it will give excuse for the gov torturing and abusing me when I was a child."

(Very slight editing, Connie, this blogger)

Subject: UPDATE Omar Khadr URGENT ACTION
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:32:06 -0400
From: Zeke Johnson
To: CTWJ_Casework@AIUSA.ORG

See (and keep watching for) Urgent Action (on behalf of) Omar Khadr.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Department of Justice announced that it will appeal the Federal Court's decision which ordered the Canadian government to provide remedies for violations of Omar Khadr's rights.

The revised UA calls on the Canadian authorities to drop their appeal of the Federal Court's ruling and to seek the repatriation of Omar Khadr immediately and on the US authorities to abandon military commission proceedings against him.

Thank you very much for taking action!
Zeke

Zeke Johnson, Campaigner
Counter Terror With Justice Campaign
Amnesty International USA
5 Penn Plaza, 16th Floor, NY, NY 10001
T 212.633.4256
C 646.853.9779
zjohnson@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/ctwj

LINK to Amnestyusa dot org Counter Terror With Justice here

More to be added...Meantime, Follow Andy Worthington for much more as Omar Khadr's case unfolds here

NEW just 7 hours ago and over 1,000 comments GO here

Duas/Prayers/Actions of Support are surely needed now more than ever...