Drones: We Need Debate, Not Sound Bites

It's an election year in the US. National security is becoming a top issue. Everyone's talking about ISIS, and terrorism. The evolving US militarism is bubbling just below the surface.

Okay: let's put the question on the table.

REAL debate is not the 3-ring circus that you see on TV during prime time,
full of personalities and ad hominem attacks, but rather a knowledge- and
research-based exchange of argument and counterargument directed at
focused analysis of a specific question. Passion and competition, yes,
but, more than anything else, debate is an exercise in critical thinking!

Let's hear some real debate: Is military action the solution? Is violence the way to fight violence? Are we going to "drone" our way to a peaceful world?

Before we let some politician get away with a cheap sound bit, let's subject the question to real scrutiny:

Does the use of drones really offer countries like the US the best solution for addressing violent threats?

Let's see a real debate.


Related posts

Anyone who has had to write a speech knows that the hardest part is to land on the main idea. Once you've got that right, the rest practically writes itself.

(See "The way to respond to ISIS is not through violence." on Scarry Thoughts.)





A virus is able to be so successful precisely because it (most of the time) doesn't kill its host. I can't help thinking that we simply are not being intelligent about how to respond to violence. How might recognizing the "viral" nature of violence help us to respond to it more intelligently?

(See Violence: Taking Over Like a Virus on Scarry Thoughts.)






We can now entrust all the dirty work -- including war -- to robots. (Or can we?)

(See A Modest Proposal: Debate the Drones on Scarry Thoughts.)

FOUR WE WILL REMEMBER: Former Drone Operators Speak Out Against Drone Killings

This post is a kind of stake in the ground, a time capsule, to remind us in the months and years ahead that in the fall of 2015 we were talking about the four drone operators who stood up and spoke out against US drone killings.

Let us hope that in the days ahead there are so many that we won't be able to remember what it was like when there were just these brave few.

(AND let's hope that we have all helped bring a quick reversal of the apparent persecution of these whistleblowers: see "Obama’s War on Truth. USAF Drone Operators 'Who Blew the Whistle'")

In the meantime please sign and share the Change.org petition to Protect the Drone Assassination Program Whistleblowers!

"Former US military drone operators discuss their experiences at the Guardian
offices in New York on Tuesday [September 17, 2015]."
See: "Life as a drone operator: 'Ever step on ants
and never give it another thought?'
(Photograph: Simon Leigh for the Guardian)

The following letter is reproduced from an original posted online:

President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Secretary Ashton B. Carter
Department of Defense

Director John O. Brennan
Central Intelligence Agency

Dear President Obama, Secretary Carter and Director Brennan:

            We are former Air Force service members. We joined the Air Force to protect American lives and to protect our Constitution. We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world.

            When the guilt of our roles in facilitating this systematic loss of innocent life became too much, all of us succumbed to PTSD. We were cut loose by the same government we gave so much to ­­ sent out in the world without adequate medical care, reliable public health services, or necessary benefits. Some of us are now homeless. Others of us barely make it.

            We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country’s leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home. Such silence would violate the very oaths we took to support and defend the Constitution.

            We request that you consider our perspective, though perhaps that request is in vain given the unprecedented prosecution of truth­tellers who came before us like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden. For the sake of this country, we hope it is otherwise.

Sincerely,

Brandon Bryant
Staff Sergeant
MQ­1B Predator Sensor Operator
SERE Instructor Trainee
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Disabled Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Founder of Project RED HAND

Cian Westmoreland
Senior Airman
RF Transmissions Systems
USAF CENTCOM
73rd Expeditionary Air Control Squadron
Disabled Afghanistan Veteran
Project RED HAND's Sustainable Technology Director

Stephen Lewis
Senior Airman
MQ­1B Predator Sensor Operator
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran

Michael Haas
Senior Airman
MQ­1B Predator Sensor Operator Instructor
USAF Air Combat Command
15th Reconnaissance Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran


See their website: Project Red Hand.


Related links:

The Guardian: "Life as a drone operator: 'Ever step on ants and never give it another thought?'

Pressconference on Livestream

The Intercept: Former Drone Operators Say They Were “Horrified” By Cruelty of Assassination Program

DEMOCRACY NOW - November 20, 2015 - Exclusive: 2 Air Force Vets Speak Out for First Time on Why They Want the Drone War to Stop

DRONE NATION: Putting the Killing Out of SIght, Out of Mind?

Are we falling behind in our effort to resist the growing convergence of robotics and war?

Having been at it for about 3-1/2 years, No Drones Network campaigners are becoming more and more aware that the greatest challenge of drones is that they operate "out of sight" . . . and once they're out of sight, they tend to be "out of mind."

Drones operate "out there" somewhere, and the US citizenry is encouraged to ignore them and go on with their lives. Whatever you do, don't think about drones. And certainly don't think deeply . . . .

People have trouble focusing on the problem of drones.  And that's just the way the government likes it. (See "Why focus on drone attacks?")

The antidote is active and creative agitation: activism that encourages people to think.

What are the creative ways that people around the country and around the world are helping people think deeply about what is being done with drones?

I've added a few links below. Please expand this list by using the comments section.

Why GROUNDED Is Soaring: Putting Drone Dilemmas In Your Face
Level Up, Step Up, Grow Up, Man Up . . . Wake Up
"The Predator" in Chicago - Good Friday, 2013 - "A Passion Play for the Drones Era"
GOOD KILL: Struggling to Bring the Truth of Drone Killing Out of the Shadows
ROBOTIC KILLING: What could possibly go wrong? (Ask a kid)
A Modest Proposal: Debate the Drones
The Apostle's Creed as a Focus for Thinking About Drones
"Everyday Suspects": Chicago Exhibition Delves Into Drone Invasion of Everyday Life
Time for a History Lesson? (Invoking Guernica)


Update: October 14, 2015

Plenty of schools are now teaching kids about drones. (Just google "high school curriculum drones".)

There seems to be a lot of "gee-whiz" fascination with the technology. (Hey, it's STEM, right?) But do these how-to courses on drones even begin to touch ethical questions?

One valuable exception seems to be this study guide: "A Field Guide to Teaching Agency and Ethics: The West Wing and American Foreign Policy," especially "Sample Lesson 2: Targeted killings, agency, and ethics."


Update: October 15, 2015

Like the answer to a prayer, today The Intercept published "The Drone Papers." EVERYONE please read...think about...write about...and SHARE. More about "The Drone Papers" in this space soon . . . .


Update: October 19, 2015

An art installation by Jim Shaw. "Labyrinth" and "Guernica": I wonder how many viewers will make the effort to tease out the parallels -- and contrasts -- between these two works.

(See Time for a History Lesson? (Invoking Guernica) on Scarry Thoughts)






Update: October 20, 2015

Drone killings is a topic that the mainstream media avoids. Project Censored has named US drone killings of civilians the 3rd most important under-reported story of 2015:

"Since President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, an estimated 2,464 people have been killed by drone strikes targeted outside of the United States’ declared war zones; this figure was posted in February 2015 by Jack Serle and the team at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism . . .  (More on Project Censored . . . )"

(I'm grateful for the coverage of Project Censored in the East Bay Express for bringing this to my attention.)


Update: December 1, 2015

Philosopher and cultural critic Laurie Calhoun points out in her essay, "Bribery and the Unraveling of Moral Fiber in the Drone Age," "There have always been people willing to murder people in exchange for thick wads of cash, but in centuries past, they were generally considered to be disreputable hitmen . . . ."

"Have we forgotten our humanity in the pursuit of vengeance and
security?" Former Drone Operators Speak Out Against Drone Killings

But something's changed.

Four former drone operators who have blown the whistle on the US drone assassination program: FOUR WE WILL REMEMBER: Former Drone Operators Speak Out Against Drone Killings.

What does this mean?


Update: December 12, 2015

Carol Anne Grayson reports on her blog: "Thursday 10th December 2015, human rights lawyers from Reprieve launched a Drone Compensation Report regarding victims of US drone strikes at Margala, Pakistan vowing to seek justice for those affected." (See "Pakistan: Drone Compensation Launch held at Margala to support victims of US strikes")

Meanwhile, the L.A. Times reports, "Air Force proposes $3-billion plan to vastly expand its drone program."


COMMENTS PLEASE! What are the creative ways that people around the country and around the world are helping people think deeply about what is being done with drones?

ROBOTIC KILLING: What could possibly go wrong? (Ask a kid)

Massachusetts Peace Action contest winners

Earlier this year, Massachusetts Peace Action sponsored a contest for posters and videos from local students to be used in promoting the April Peace and Planet events in New York City.

The results were impressive. I was particularly struck by this video:

The whole problem with the NPT, summed up in two minutes and thirty-nine seconds!

The lesson for me: if we want someone to help us explain an antiwar message, maybe we should ask a kid.

The movement against drone killing and drone surveillance could benefit from imaginative, no-holds-barred, tech-savvy, explorations of the problem.  The more people -- especially young people -- we get talking about this, the better!

The problem we're up against is that drones are portrayed as an out-of-sight, out-of-mind solution to military action, and so the general public is happy to simply not worry about it.

Just imagine what would happen if we could ask kids to think about the question . . .

Robotic killing: 

What could possibly go wrong?

How can we interest educators in schools across the country in asking the question: "Robotic killing: What could possibly go wrong?"

What do Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk say? "Autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks such as assassinations, destabilizing nations, subduing populations and selectively killing a particular ethnic group. We therefore believe that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity," they say in a joint letter by concerned scientists. (See Ban Killer Robots Before They Take Over, Stephen Hawking & Elon Musk Say)

Related posts

We can now entrust all the dirty work -- including war -- to robots. (Or can we?)

(See A Modest Proposal: Debate the Drones  )













With drones, people become just dots. "Bugs." People who no longer count as people . . . .

(See Drone Victims: Just Dots? Just Dirt? )












The panopticon was a prison design that reversed the old paradigm, in which prisoners were stored away, "out of sight, out of mind," and instead arrayed them in a way in which they could be observed as efficiently as possible by the fewest number of managers.

(See Drones, 1984, and Foucault's Panopticon)

Dealer: "The military folks have hijacked the U.S. drone"

Is there an opportunity for people who support civilian uses of drones to make common cause with people who oppose drone killing and drone surveillance?

from @TheDroneDealer:
"The military folks have hijacked the U.S. drone industry
most of us want to do positivie things with drone tech
I'm not sure the police can handle the responsibility
they need to reach out to their communities"

Comments please!

Opponents of Drone Killing Go to Nevada Desert to "Shut Down Creech!" in March

Shut Down Creech! protesters
(See more photos on the Shut Down Creech! website.)

 
Join activists from across the country and around the world to Shut Down Creech! March 4-6, 2015 at Creech Air Force Base, Indian Springs, Nevada, for a national mobilization of nonviolent resistance to shut down killer drone operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan,Yemen, Somalia, and everywhere.

April 2014, CODEPINK Resisting Drones at Creech,
memorializing the victims on pink paper drones.
(See more photos on the Shut Down Creech! website.)

(See the full program of the multi-day mobilization on the Shut Down Creech! website.)

The convergence is sponsored by . . .

CODEPINK: Women for Peace
Nevada Desert Experience (NDE)
Veterans For Peace (VFP)
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV)
. . . and more (see full list)

TESTIMONIALS

Activists from across the country will be converging there:

John Amidon: "Please join us March 4 - 6 to Shut Down Creech!" on No Drones New York State

Kathy Kelly: "Let's rehabilitate CREECH!" on No Drones Illinois


TAKE ACTION

Join Shut Down Creech! on Facebook

and invite friends

Social media: Tweet, RT, Favorite

#ShutDownCreech posts on Twitter

Plan your participation via

the Shut Down Creech! website

One People One Earth . . . Stop Drone Attacks!
 (See more photos on the Shut Down Creech! website.)

 

GLOBAL DRONE PROLIFERATION: How does this end?

"Dozens of aerial drones were on display...
at the Chinese air show in Zhuhai." (NYT - 11/27/2012)

The United States is very good at starting things . . . but seldom considers three moves ahead, much less how it will all end.

Drones are a case in point.

Now people are starting to talk about the problem of global drone proliferation. Here are some resources.


Arms Control Association: "Drone Proliferation Tests Arms Control"

April, 2014 - "As the U.S. government winds up an interagency review of rules governing the export of large drones, the conflicting goals of nonproliferation and commerce are creating a new test of the 27-year-old Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)."


The Atlantic: "8 Questions the World Faces as Lethal Drones Proliferate: Today's answers will affect how other countries pursue targeted killing in the future"

March 12, 2014 - "Sooner or later, countries other than the United States may start killing people with drones as frequently as we do. If and when that happens, Americans are likely to regret the norms President Obama has established around targeted and semi-targeted killing . . . . "


CNN.com: "Nine facts about armed drones"

May 13, 2014 - "The virtual monopoly that the United States had on armed drones a decade ago is evaporating . . . . "


Action on Armed Violence infographic: "Global drone wars: current combat drones and their proliferation"

"Once countries like China start exporting [drones], they're going to be everywhere really quickly . . . . "


Global Post Special Report: "The Drone Age: Why we should fear global proliferation of UAVs"

"Inside the world’s biggest air shows in Singapore, Dubai and Paris, leading weapons manufacturers gather to sell their lethal wares in the global marketplace, and nothing is selling these days like drones . . . ."


Council on Foreign Relations Special Report: Limiting Armed Drone Proliferation

June 26, 2014 - "The Obama administration should pursue a strategy that places clear limits on its own sale and use of armed drones lest these weapons proliferate and their use becomes widespread. These are the central findings of a new report by CFR Douglas Dillon Fellow Micah Zenko and Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Sarah Kreps."

"Although only five countries have developed armed drones—the United States, Britain, Israel, China, and Iran—several other countries have announced their own programs . . . ."

(See also "The Drone Invasion Has Been Greatly Exaggerated: Why sensationalizing drone proliferation is going to kill our ability to control them" and "Drone Proliferation: Three Things to Know")


Related posts


No matter how you feel about the inherent challenges posed by drone technology . . . whether or not you recognize that drone attacks resulting in innocent deaths are an enormous ethical and practical problem . . . whether or not you are concerned that even "successful" drone attacks constitute extrajudicial executions (i.e. are war crimes) and are not "self-defense" as claimed by the Obama Administration . . . whether or not you care about the simple surveillance implications of drone use . . . doesn't it seem like a good idea to SLOW DOWN with the proliferation of drone technology? Lest we end up regretting it later?

(See The Drone-Pandora Connection (and I'm not talking about music) )


Today, it may seem quaint to think about the role that trains played in the cataclysms of the 20th century. Could something as simple as a bunch of trains, once set in motion, possibly put people on a course they couldn't reverse? And yet . . . what if I told you that the hyper-organized planners of the U.S. government have a timetable to make 100 drone bases operational in our country in the near future?

(See War By (Drone Base) Timetable? )

Beyond recognizing the inherent contradictions of "pre-emptive violence," we must confront an urgent problem related to technology: the automation of "pre-emptive violence" -- e.g. via drone technology -- is leading to a spiral (or "loop" or "recursive process") that we may not be able to get out of.

(See When "Pre-emptive Violence" Is Automated ....)

Gaza Crisis Brings Israel's "Dronification" of State Power into Full View

The use of drones by Israel in the current Gaza crisis is bringing into full view the leading role of Israel in changing the way the U.S. and other countries assert state power against people everywhere.

Israeli drone pilot describes how assassinations are carried out

As this Wall Street Journal video points out, the U.S. previously criticized Israel for carrying out assassinations using drones . . . before adopting "the same deadly tactic" in its own killing program in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Israel has created its own peculiar ethics: it's all exerting power "without risking human lives" i.e. the "human lives of pilot or aircrew." The "infantry feels more safe." As for people on the ground, the words "militant" or "terrorist" condemn them to execution.

People in Chicago were treated to an elaborate description of this ethic when leading Israeli military thinker Amos Guiora spoke there about "good" targeted killing. (See "Targeted Killing" - The Heart of the U.S.-Israel Relationship )

On top of defining the new ideology of drone killing, Israel is the top exporter of drones. As the WSJ video points out, five NATO countries are using Israeli drones in Afghanistan, and Turkey and Brazil are importing Israeli drones.

"Dronification" . . . Made in Israel!


Related posts

Amos Guiora, an Israeli "counter-terrorism expert," held forth on the difference between "good" targeted killing -- i.e. the kind Israeli practices (!) -- and "bad" targeted killing -- namely, the kind the Obama administration carries out. But what this talk was really about was conditioning the public to accept the idea that "targeted killing" is a legitimate activity of a government.

(See "Targeted Killing" - The Heart of the U.S.-Israel Relationship )

No Drones Illinois has endorsed the following call by Anti-War Committee – Chicago, Jews for Justice in Palestine, U.S. Palestinian Community Network and 8th Day Center for Justice: Protest Boeing Death Machines in Gaza: Demand Chicago Drop Boeing from Air and Water Show!

(See No Drones Illinois Endorses Call to Drop Boeing from Chicago Air and Water Show)

The movement to publicize and bring an end to drone warfare customarily focuses on U.S. actions in four places: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Is it time to add the Sinai Peninsula to that list, considering drone executions being carried out by Israel there?

(See Should We Include Sinai in the List of U.S. Drone Target Zones? )

"Immigration Border Crisis": The Perfect Excuse for Total Drone Surveillance

The crisis du jour in the U.S. is now the "immigration border crisis": thousands of unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S. border. Although the crisis is not one of detecting these immigrants, but of discovering an ethical response to their plight, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is wasting no time demanding money for surveillance equipment.


As reported by NBC News, "[t]he White House wants an additional $3.7 billion to deal with the current crisis, with $39.4 million committed to air surveillance — including funds meant for 16 additional crews to operate and maintain drones" (See "Eyes in the Sky: Are Pricey Border Patrol Drones Worth the Money?")

The immediate challenge will be for immigrants rights and civil liberties activists in states on the southern border -- California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas -- to redouble their efforts to keep the drones on the ground.

But just how long do the non-border states think it will be before those drones are being "borrowed" by local law enforcement or other federal agencies for all kinds of purposes, in all kinds of places?


Related posts

The acquisition of drones by LAPD, in the larger context of the LAPD Architecture of surveillance, spying and infiltration, demonstrates the continued militarization of the LAPD. Embedded within this infrastructure is an enormous array of electronic and human surveillance programs and devices such as - Trapwire, Stingray, Hi Definition Cameras, Automatic License Plate Readers, Suspicious Activity Reporting, Special Order 1, iWATCH, Predictive Policing, and the Safer Cities Initiative.

(See "No Drones in LA!")

Texas' "drone zone" is anchored by Fort Bliss in El Paso, an authorized basing/training site for Reaper drones and smaller-scale Shadow and Raven drones. Two other anchors of Texas' "drone zone" are on the Gulf Coast . . . .

(See Texas' Militarized Border: How Will Drone Politics Impact the 2014 Midterm in the 23rd? )

It was interesting that on the main street at Senator Udall's office several bystanders joined in with us to hold signs for a while. There is a good amount of general knowledge about drones and the controversy surrounding them.

(See Jan18: Albuquerque Protests Drones )

According to the Department of Defense Report to Congress on Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training, Operations, and Sustainability (April 2012), Arizona has six (6) locations that have been designated as potential basing locations for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) [i.e. drones].

(See Arizona Drone Bases)

Content Tags Across Dozens of "No Drones" Sites Now Networked

We've been working to provide a consistent set of data tags to all the posts on all the "No Drones" sites.

Below is the list of tags that we are trying to use on a consistent basis. They are hyperlinked to the Google search engine to return links to all the different "No Drones" sites and the posts there related to the specific tags.

Due to the efforts of thousands of people around the country, a diverse set of activities have been taking place to in many different locations to bring attention to, educate about, spur conversation of, and protest illegitimate uses of drones.

(The list is in development and the list below includes the most frequently used terms.)

A B

air show protest

anti-drones activity . . .

anti-drone advocacy online tools

NSDSW wiki

anti-drones art

AFSC Windows and Mirrors Project

anti-drones campaign

April Days of Action 2013
Spring Days of Action 2014
November Days of Action 2013

anti-drones conference
anti-drones dramatic production
anti-drones film
anti-drones guerrilla theater
anti-drones light show
anti-drones literature
anti-drones music performance
anti-drones organizing

Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW)

anti-drones poetry
anti-drones protest
anti-drones video
anti-drones walk

C

call for U.N. intervention in U.S. drone use
CIA drone program protest
blogging about the problem of drones
Code Pink Pakistan delegation

Congress-related . . .

drones caucus
HR 4372 Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act
letters to Congress about the problem of drones
visits to Congressional offices about the problem of drones
tweet member of Congress about the problem of drones
Congressional action on the problem of drones
Congressional hearings on the problem of drones

D

data about the problem of drones
domestic use of drones

local drones ordinance

drone(s) - other aspects . . .

drone base
drone crashes
drone friendly-fire incidents
drone manufacturer protest

BAE Systems drones
Boeing drones
Elbit drones
General Atomics drones
Lockheed drone weapons
Raytheon drone weapons

drone pilot counter-recruitment
drone research and development R&D
drone testing
drone victims
drones in video games
drones undermining consent of the U.S. populace in warmaking
drones undermining U.S. commitment to rule of law
drones war crimes

E F G H I J K L

faith communities response to the problem of drones

Catholic social teaching and drones
Buddhist response to the problem of drones
Creed as guide for thinking about the problem of drones

fundraising for anti-drones efforts

June 12 2012 letter from Congress to Obama raising questions about drone strikes


M N

media treatment of drones problem

mainstream media response to drones problem
citizen media response to drones problem

blogging about drones problem
campus media media response to drones problem
Facebook no drones pages
Twitter #drones
Twitter #nodrones

mainstream media response to the problem of drones
military base protest

National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR)
NSA surveillance program protest
  
O P

opposition to drones on social media
opposition to university research on drones

public discussion of ethics of drone business jobs profits
public education about the problem of drones
public forum on drones

Q R S T U V W X Y Z

rejecting drones fundamental agency in fostering illegitimate human power relations

Fall 2014 Events in the Movement Against Drone Killing and Surveillance

September

Air Shows (various locations nationwide)

Experience shows that air shows are good places to protest drone killing and surveillance.

(See also Why Air Shows Are a Very Effective Place to Protest Drone Killing and Drone Surveillance )

See list of fall 2014 air shows 

Campaign Nonviolence Week of Actions - September 21 - 27

Participate in one of the dozens of actions taking place nationwide, many of them organized by groups with a strong history of protesting drones killings and drone surveillance.

One of the pillars of Campaign Nonviolence is "Ending the military drone program."

Why is "Ending the military drone program" a pillar of Campaign Nonviolence?

September 21-22 - Campaign Nonviolence Focus at Heritage Festival in Tiffin (OHIO)
September 25 - Catholic Worker Presentation with Brian Terrell (IOWA)
September 27 - Stop Drone War Command Center at Horsham (PENNSYLVANIA)
September 29/30 - Stop the Drones! at Beale (CALIFORNIA)

See the full list of actions nationwide.

October 


Global Action Day Against the Use of Drones for Surveillance & Killing -- October 4

Join the first Global Action Day Against the Use of Drones for Surveillance & Killing.

As global citizens who believe in justice and the rule of law, we oppose weaponized and surveillance drones.

If you or your group are planning an action or event for October 4 and would like to post information about it on this website, please email a brief description to Anastasia of CODEPINK at anastasia@codepink.org.

Keep Space for Peace Week -- October 4-11

The annual Keep Space for Peace week will take place October 4 - 11, 2014, at locations nationally and internationally.

Download poster
download flyer
See the video on Youtube










Related posts

October 4, 2014 has been set as the date for nationwide action on the problem of drone killing and surveillance. It seems to me that this is well timed for action vis-a-vis representatives in Congress, most of whom will face a vote on Election Day (Tuesday, November 4, 2014).

(See A Modest Proposal: Turn October 4 Into a "Come Clean On Drones Killing" Deadline! )

Perhaps the single most significant consequence of the advent of killer drones is that they allow the state to efficiently separate war-making from the emotional involvement of the people of the country using them. In other words, with the coming of drone warfare, we have been denied the opportunity for empathy with those affected by our (direct and indirect) actions.

(See Why is "Ending the military drone program" a pillar of Campaign Nonviolence?)

Obama to Senate: "Stop Asking So Many Questions About My Judicial Nominees"

Senator Rand Paul (KY) is making a very simple demand: You want to be a judge? Show us your legal opinions.

President Obama has nominated David Barron to be a judge.  Rand Paul correctly points out that Barron is tied to some very troubling legal memos -- the ones the administration uses to justify drone killings.

(See "Rand Paul threatens to derail Obama judicial nominee over drone memos: Republican senator demands release of legal memos written by David Barron that signed off on killing of US citizens" in The Guardian)

It seems likely that the Obama team is going to cough up the drones memo . . . and Rand Paul isn't going to back down . . . so add this to the other damaging incidents in what may amount to Barack Obama and the Democratic Party's mensis horribilis. ("Horrible month" -- sort of like annus horribilis, "horrible month," but more sudden.) The Schiff "Come Clean on Drone Killing Bill" . . . the Senate vote to release the torture report . . . nationwide demonstrations planned to emphasize the continued failure to close Guantanamo a year after the 5/23/2013 "National Security" speech . . . the chickens seem to be coming home to roost.

(About time.)

Related posts

Eric Holder addressed a group of Northwestern Law students and others. Afterward one audience member summed up the speech as he left: "He pretty much said he can kill anyone he wants." The details of that speech will turn you more topsy-turvy than anything Alice experienced when she ventured through the looking glass.

(See Eric Through the Looking Glass)


  

FIVE (5) additional co-sponsors were added last week to Schiff/Jones HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act:

Rep. Welch, Peter [D-VT-At Large]

Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]

Rep. McDermott, Jim [D-WA-7]

Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3]

Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14]

(See SUPPORT the "Come Clean on Drone Killings" Act (Schiff/Jones HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act) )

On May 23rd of last year, President Obama again promised to close the detention facility at Guantánamo. His pledge came in response to the mass hunger strike by men protesting their indefinite detention and to the renewed, global condemnation of the prison. One year later, far too little has changed: few detained men have left the prison and hunger strikes and forced feeding continue. 



(See May 23 - Not Another Broken Promise! Not Another Day in Guantanamo! )

SUPPORT the "Come Clean on Drone Killings" Act (Schiff/Jones HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act)

[UPDATE June 5, 2014: NINE (9) additional co-sponsors added in recent weeks:

Rep. Welch, Peter [D-VT-At Large]

Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]

Rep. McDermott, Jim [D-WA-7]

Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3]

Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14]

Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13]

Rep. Lowenthal, Alan S. [D-CA-47]

Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]

Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4]

GATHERING STEAM! . . .

(up-to-date list: http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4372/cosponsors )


April 13, 2014 - Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) have now submitted a bill calling for drone transparency. See Natasha Lennard, "New Bill Aims for Drone Transparency," and Thomas Earnest, "Representatives Schiff and Jones Introduce Bill to Increase Transparency in U.S. Drone Program."

See also Joint Statement in Support of The Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act by Amnesty International, Arab American Institute, Center for Civilians in Conflict, Center for Constitutional Rights, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Global Justice Clinic, NYU School of Law, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, National Security Network, Open Society Policy Center, Peace Action West, Reprieve, and Win Without War.

Some people call it the "come clean on drone killings" act

The "Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act" could be the beginning of the end for out-of-control U.S. drones killings. But it's up to US to make sure this initiative doesn't die on the vine.

As Robert Naiman at Just Foreign Policy has said, "Whether the introduction of this legislation will mark a turning point in efforts to subject the drone strike policy to democratic scrutiny and the rule of law will significantly depend on whether members of the public rally behind the Schiff-Jones bill and press their representatives in Congress to cosponsor it." (See "Pass the Drone Strike Transparency Act")

Call your member of Congress today!

Here are resources to help:

Identify your member of Congress

Example letter to a member of Congress in support of HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (the "come clean on drone killings" act)

List for writing to members of Congress in California in support of HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (the "come clean on drone killings" act)

List for writing to members of Congress in Illinois in support of HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (the "come clean on drone killings" act)

List for writing to members of Congress in New York in support of HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (the "come clean on drone killings" act)

List for writing to members of Congress in Wisconsin in support of HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (the "come clean on drone killings" act)

Related posts

First Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) called the U.S. on the carpet for dodging the call from the international community to come clean about its drone killings. Then Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) submitted a bill calling for drone transparency. So ... are we finally going to get the truth?

(See REAL Progressives Demand that the U.S. Come Clean on Drone Killings)

A 2013 U.N. report makes it clear that the U.S. has to report fully on all its drone attacks.

(See 2014: The Year of Transparency (for U.S. Drone Use)?)

The reason the Administration is hiding truth about drones is that they don't have a satisfactory answer for how decisions about drone strikes are made.  As we have known all along, we need the public to think about how crummy the whole drone program is, and then they will be ready to be on our side. The best way to get them really thinking is to shine a spotlight on the secrecy, evasiveness, and deceit involved in the U.S. drone program.

(See Drone Killings: Come Clean )