Independence Day parade West Athens, Maine 7/4/09 |
And it is one of the most evil and destructive inventions of man, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is used extensively right now in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and Yemen. Drones strikes are estimated to kill about 1 militant for every 10 people, most of them innocent bystanders or, in the amoral parlance of your tax funded military-industrial complex, "collateral damage." But that's old news.
From a Between The Lines interview with Kathy Kelly on civilians killed by drones (contains links to many other good sources on drones, democracy, and terrorism). |
And India began deploying drones against the Maoist rebels, indigenous people of the jungles who fight to defend their land from capitalist exploiters and thieves. Those drones were made in Israel also.
Meanwhile international journalists investigated and refuted the claim by the CIA that no civilians are killed by drones in Pakistan. And a journalist on the ground noticed how drone strikes are reported as successful at killing terrorists -- but never seem to mention the women and children whose ribbons of flesh festoon nearby trees after the attacks. So Noor Behram took his camera on the road in Waziristan and started counting.
Those who have been paying attention all along have a United Against Drones website, and some, including my CODEPINK sisters, will vigil at bases where drones are flown by remote control. They will stand outside the bases with signs pleading with the drone operators to stop and think about what they are doing, to consider that killing people via joystick in not just "a job" no matter what your commanding officer tells you. Join them on July 26 at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, Calif.
Of course, there is no remote control way to fix our national karma. The U.S. will have to stop doing wrong, and make amends.
Mark Roman and friends at Raytheon in Northampton, Mass., June, 2011. |
Oh, and maybe think about getting rid of that game system that trains your youngsters to be joystick killers.
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