April Days Arrive, But Will Politicians Wake Up?

Even as the spirited nationwide April Days uprising against U.S. drone use gets into full swing, there remains a very serious question: will members of Congress wake up and realize they need to make big changes in the military conduct of the United States?

Senator Rand Paul injected great excitement into the No Drones movement by his filibuster protesting the confirmation of John Brennan, one of the architects of the current Administration's drone policy, as head of the CIA. Many people across the political spectrum were startled that it fell to Paul to take the lead on the issue. And it started to force a lot of people to think.

Locations of Congressional drones caucus member districts.

A big problem is that U.S. congressmen have been convinced that (a) the American people support the President's campaign of drone killing, and (b) drones are good for the economy. The best evidence of this is the drones caucus in Congress, a.k.a the "Unmanned Systems Caucus". Representatives from dozens of states participate in the caucus; there is an especially large representation from California and Texas.

The "April Days" should start to make members of Congress question these assumptions. Nonetheless, it is very difficult to lure congressmen out into the open to talk about drones. Here are a few variations on efforts to get members of Congress to engage on the issue:

OHIO - Congressman Michael Turner: Stop the Drones!

WISCONSIN - Tammy Baldwin on Drones

CALIFORNIA - Drones, Permawar, and the Problem of "Good Jobs"

Maybe 2013 will be the year that members of Congress will realize they can no longer hide from the drones issue, and from their larger responsibility to control U.S. militarism. (Or ... maybe 2014 will be the year to make some changes.)

Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 

in the April Days of Action Against Drones!