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.)

 

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?)

End Drone Killing, Drone Surveillance and Global Militarization: Call for Spring Days of Action 2014

Today we issue an international call for Spring Days of Action – 2014, a coordinated campaign in April and May to:

End Drone Killing, Drone Surveillance and Global Militarization

The campaign will focus on drone bases, drone research facilities and test sites and drone manufacturers.

The campaign will provide information on:

1. The suffering of tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza who are under drone attack, documenting the killing, the wounding and the devastating impact of constant drone surveillance on community life.

2. How attack and surveillance drones have become a key element in a massive wave of surveillance, clandestine military attacks and militarization generated by the United States to protect a global system of manufacture and oil and mineral exploitation that is creating unemployment and poverty, accelerating the waste of nonrenewable resources and contributing to environmental destruction and global warming.

In addition to cases in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, we will examine President Obama's "pivot" into the Asia-Pacific, where the United States has already sold and deployed drones in the vanguard of a shift of 60% of its military forces to try to control China and to enforce the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership.  We will show, among other things, how this surge of "pivot" forces, greatly enabled by drones, and supported by the US military-industrial complex, will hit every American community with even deeper cuts in the already fragile social programs on which people rely for survival.  In short, we will connect drones and militarization with "austerity" in America.

3. How drone attacks have effectively destroyed international and domestic legal protection of the rights to life, privacy, freedom of assembly and free speech and have opened the way for new levels of surveillance and repression around the world, and how, in the United States, increasing drone surveillance, added to surveillance by the National Security Agency and police, provides a new weapon to repress black, Hispanic, immigrant and low-income communities and to intimidate Americans who are increasingly unsettled by lack of jobs, economic inequality, corporate control of politics and the prospect of endless war.

We will discuss how the United States government and corporations conspire secretly to monitor US citizens and particularly how the Administration is accelerating drone surveillance operations and surveillance inside the United States with the same disregard for transparency and law that it applies to other countries, all with the cooperation of the Congress.

The campaign will encourage activists around the world to win passage of local laws that prohibit weaponized drones and drone surveillance from being used in their communities as well as seeking national laws to bar the use of weaponized drones and drone surveillance.

The campaign will draw attention to the call for a ban on weaponized drones by RootsAction.org that has generated a petition with over 80,000 signers and to efforts by the Granny Peace Brigade (New York City), KnowDrones.org and others to achieve an international ban on both weaponized drones and drone surveillance.

The campaign will also urge participation in the World Beyond War movement.

The following individuals and organizations endorse this Call:

Lyn Adamson – Co-chair, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Dennis Apel – Guadalupe Catholic Worker, California
Judy Bello – Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones & End the Wars
Medea Benjamin – Code Pink
Leah Bolger – Former National President, Veterans for Peace
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Sung-Hee Choi – Gangjeong Village International Team, Jeju, Korea
Chelsea C. Faria – Graduate student, Yale  Divinity School; Promoting Enduring Peace
Sandy Fessler – Rochester (NY) Against War
Joy First
Bruce K. Gagnon - Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Holly Gwinn Graham – Singer/songwriter, Olympia, WA.
Regina Hagen - Darmstaedter Friedensforum, Germany
Kathy Kelly – Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Malachy Kilbride
Marilyn Levin and Joe Lombardo – Co-Coordinators, United National Antiwar Coalition
Tamara Lorincz – Halifax Peace Coalition, Canada
Nick Mottern – KnowDrones.org
Agneta Norberg – Swedish Peace Council
Pepperwolf – Director, Women Against Military Madness
Lindis Percy, Coordinator, Campaign for the Accountability of American
  Bases  CAAB UK
Mathias Quackenbush – San Francisco, CA
Lisa Savage – Code Pink, State of Maine
Joe Scarry, No Drones Network
Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck- Friedenswerkstatt Mutlangen, Germany
Cindy Sheehan
Lucia Wilkes Smith – Convener, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) – Ground
   Military Drones Committee
David Soumis – Veterans for Peace; No Drones Wisconsin
Debra Sweet – World Can’t Wait
David Swanson - WarisACrime.org
Brian Terrell – Voices for Creative Nonviolence
United National Antiwar Coalition
Veterans for Peace 
Dave Webb – Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
Curt Wechsler – Fire John Yoo! (a project of World Can’t Wait) – San Francisco, CA
Paki Wieland, Northampton (MA) Committee to Stop War(s)
Loring Wirbel – Citizens for Peace in Space (Colorado Springs, CO)
Women Against Military Madness
Ann Wright – Retired US Army colonel and former diplomat
Leila Zand - Fellowship of Reconciliation

Related posts

An Insider's Guide to the 7 S's (surveillance, secrecy, and assassinations) in the 2014 Midterms: linchpin races, scandal, principle, drone testing, and some "special" cases.

(See Will the 2014 Midterms be a Referendum on Obama's Surveillance, Secrecy, and Assassinations?)







April Days of Action Against Drones 2013 included a multi-day convergence in San Diego, the campaign against Boeing in Chicago, actions all up and down the East Coast, and much, much more!

(See April Days of Action 2013)

RESOURCES: There are a large number of online tools, resources, and platforms for supporting the movement to stop drone warfare and surveillance.

(See Online Tools, Resources, and Platforms Supporting the Movement to Stop Drone Warfare and Surveillance)

ORGANIZE! Build the National Network Against Drones

We had a great network-building session at the 2013 CODEPINK Drone Summit "Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance" (Nov 16/17).

To join the US national network against drones go to the opt-in page for the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW). We plan a comprehensive email blast around December 20, and we want to make sure you're on our list!

MOREOVER . . . in our time together in DC, we strengthened our ability to support each other in our common endeavors, particularly:

(1) protests against existing and planned drone bases and command centers
(2) college and university outreach
(3) high school education
(4) organizing in communities with drone manufacturing
(5) press outreach
(6) online tools

. . . as well as other areas.

SO . . . please give some thought to two questions:

* do you have expertise, experience, resources specific to one (or more) of those 6 areas mentioned?

* would you be willing to commit time to an ongoing effort to share expertise, experience, resources specific to one (or more) of those 6 areas mentioned?

Planning will begin soon for spring protests (April Days of Action Against Drones 2014)!

Thank you and best regards,

Peter Lems, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Nick Mottern, KnowDrones
Joe Scarry, No Drones Network


Related posts

Five big realizations I'm taking away from the 2013 CODEPINK Drone Summit "Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance" in Washington, DC.

(See The 2013 DC Drones Conference: 5 Big Takeaways )

The biggest idea coming out of the 2013 Drone Summit? We will only deal successfully with the crimes being committed using drones when we understand them as part of the much larger war against communities of color . . . .

(See Drone Gaze, Drone Injury: The War on Communities of Color )

Many of us who weren't in Pakistan to participate in the massive rally against U.S. drone strikes participated in this protest by holding rallies where we were (for instance, in London), or by participating virtually via the #PakistanAgainstDrones campaign on Twitter.

(See What Would a Global Movement to Ground the Drones Look Like?)

Fall 2013 Events and Actions to Culminate in November Days of Action Against Drones

People around the country are preparing for a full slate of peace and justice activities in the months of September, October, and November, 2013, which will have great significance for the expansion and solidification of the movement against drone warfare and surveillance.

Participating organizations in the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW) -- including CODEPINK, World Can't Wait, AFSC, Know Drones, No Drones Network, and others -- are responding to a call by activists nationwide for a follow-on campaign to the tremendously successful April Days of Action 2013 with a call for. . .

November Days of Action Against Drones 2013

Below is information about the November Days as well as other major developments and events coming up.

A FULL list of ALL events relating specifically to drone opposition around the country is online - please add your events to that list!


SEPTEMBER

Midwest Action Against Drones (MAAD) 
Chicago
September 28-29

Participants from across the Midwest will converge in Chicago for an action (March On Boeing!) and conference (Building the movement against drones) in late September.


OCTOBER

Keep Space for Peace Week
(Various Locations)
October 5-12

Each fall the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space organizes Keep Space for Peace Week, during which activists around the world hold local actions that connect-the-dots between the militarization of space and endless war on Earth.

Malalai Joya
Nationwide Tour
October 3-23

On the 12th anniversary of the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, UNAC, in conjunction with the Afghan Women's Mission is sponsoring a national tour of former Afghanistan legislator, women’s rights and antiwar leader, Malalai Joya. For more information on the itinerary, please email UNAC's Malalai Joya National Tour Coordinator, Jeff Mackler at jmackler@lmi.net or UNACpeace@gmail.com.


United Nations: Action on Drones?
New York City
Beginning September 17, continuing through October

Several arms of the United Nations have already begun to investigate the criminal drone assaults launched by the United States government under President Barack Obama.

NOTE: October 25 is UN Debate on two special reports:

* Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson: Promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism

* Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns: Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

* READ THE FULL NSDSW PRESS RELEASE: Oct 25: US to Respond to UN Call for Full Accounting of "Extrajudicial, Arbitrary, and Summary Executions"?

Congressional Hearing and Associated events
Washington, DC, and New York City
October 29

(A) Capitol Hill (Washington, DC): Briefing for Rep. Alan Grayson and others on drone killing

(B) New York City: Views from the Ground: Investigating U.S. Drone Strikes - Speakers: Steve Coll, Robert Greenwald, Christof Heyns, Mustafa Qadri, Rafiq ur Rehman, Hina Shamsi, and Letta Tayler . RSVP required - see website.

NOVEMBER

CODEPINK: 2013 Drone Conference:  Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance
Washington, DC
November 16-17


The peace group CODEPINK, progressive think-tank Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation Magazine, and National Lawyers Guild (Georgetown Chapter) are hosting a second drone summit titled “Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance” in Washington, DC.


November Days of Action Against Drones
Nationwide
November, 2013


There has been extraordinary public opposition to war as a result of the Obama administration's proposal to attack Syria and continuing question over whether Congress will authorize it. This has focused public attention on the use of force and the cost of war.

The weeks ahead are a perfect time for coordinated effort against war of all kinds, including drone wars.

The fulcrum of the proposed November days will be the “Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance” summit being held in Washington DC the weekend of November 16-17, 2013.  Organized by CODEPINK, Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation Magazine, and National Lawyers Guild (Georgetown Chapter), coordinated actions will compliment and support the gathering.

* Friday, November 15: protests at General Atomics in Washington, DC.  We are calling for actions around the country at other manufactures of drones.

* Saturday/Sunday, November 16/17:  Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance (Registration and Program)

* Monday, November 18: legislative push at Congressional offices in DC and in local districts.

To help build this campaign, please:

(1) Post your actions on the unified national list of anti-drones actions.

(2) Opt-in to become a participant in NSDSW.

(3) Use the NSDSW online organizing manual to develop your actions, and share it with others!

. . . and please share this call widely.

An expanded description of November Days of Action Against Drones activities will be distributed by October 1.

National Anti-Drone Group Calls for April Protests

A coalition of peace and justice groups -- the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW) -- has made a call for national protests against drones in April, 2013. The "April Days" include events in dozens of cities nationwide, as well as a range of ways for people to participate wherever they are. (Read more about the continuation of this campaign: Summer Days Against Drones .)

April Days of Action nationwide

ACTIONS NATIONWIDE

Dozens of actions have been planned nationwide, and new events are being added daily. Events are planned for Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Dayton, Ft. Wayne, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Seattle, Tucson, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Honolulu, as well as in dozens of other locations, including many of the communities that host the estimated 100 drone basing sites in the U.S.

See the full list of vigils, protests, lectures, and other actions that are part of the April Days nationwide.

#AprilDays on Twitter

 #APRILDAYS ON TWITTER

As part of the April Days of Action Against Drones, anti-drones activists will be tweeting throughout the month, using the hashtags #AprilDays and #nodrones.

Read about how you can be part of the #ApilDays campaign on Twitter.

The "No Drones" bible

"NO DRONES!" EDUCATION

The April Days of Action Against Drones is just the beginning of an intensive campaign to educate people nationwide about the menace of drone surveillance and drone killing.

Through books, videos, studies, and a host of other resources, people will be learning -- and teaching -- about drones and how to bring an end to their use.

Read more about education tools YOU can start using TODAY!




LOCAL REGULATION

Drone bases across the country

The April Days of Action Against Drones are coinciding with a groundswell in local efforts to control or ban drones.

Major drivers in the move to ban drone use at the local level are (a) acquisition of drones by local sheriff and other law enforcement departments; and (b) the Department of Defense (DoD) plan to base drones in over 100 locations nationwide.

Read more about the movement to regulate drones on a local level.



FAITH GROUPS RESPOND

Chicago die-in

A vital group of allies in the April Days of Action Against Drones in city after city have been faith-based groups. Indeed, faith-based groups are longstanding stalwarts in the antiwar movement, and a growing number of faith groups are entering the struggle for human rights, peace, and justice.

Group letters, blogs, vigils, and denominational resolutions have all been part of the faith response to drones so far.

Nonetheless, there is much, much more work for the faith community to do in addressing the problem of drones.

Read more about how the faith community is getting involved in the problem of drones.



WILL POLITICIANS WAKE UP?

Drones caucus members

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. Many of them participate in the drones caucus in Congress, a.k.a the "Unmanned Systems Caucus."

The "April Days" should start to make members of Congress question these assumptions.

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.

Read more about the work people are doing to get Congress to do their job and stop the drones!

Drones Quilt Project

APRIL DAYS EVERYWHERE!

There are actions happening all over the country during the April Days. But no matter where you are, you can be actively involved in the movement to resist drone surveillance and drone killing.

Through a diverse range of activities -- dramatic productions, the Drone Quilt Project, poetry, postcard projects, and more -- people are contributing to this massive, world-changing effort.

Read more about ways you can resist drones wherever you are.



APRIL DAYS IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA

Breaking news in The Guardian

The April Days were off and running when the Guardian reported on March 27:

Military bases, universities and companies involved in Barack Obama's drones programme are to be targeted in a month-long series of protests by activists keen to build on the renewed public focus over the president's controversial policy.

Dubbed "April Days of Action" by participants, organisers are hoping to capitalise on a series of recent controversies that have thrust the use of drones – especially when it comes to targeted killings of suspected terrorists – into the heart of American political debate.

Read all the press coverage of the April Days of Action Against Drones.


VOLUNTEER

A vitally important part of the April Days is the development of a strong anti-drones, antiwar movement. That means organizing.

Reach out to activists in your area and make a commitment of time, energy, and imagination.

Need help getting connected? Use the No Drones Network volunteer form and we'll put you in touch with organizers in your state.


MORE ABOUT THE APRIL DAYS

The April Days of Action Against Drones arose out of a call by the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW) for a month of action during April, 2013, including protests against drone manufacturing, drone research and/or training of drone pilots at colleges and universities, and drone bases.

April Days See Local Drone Controls and Bans Intensify

The April Days of Action Against Drones are coinciding with a groundswell in local efforts to control or ban drones.

Major drivers in the move to ban drone use at the local level are (a) acquisition of drones by local sheriff and other law enforcement departments; and (b) the Department of Defense (DoD) plan to base drones in over 100 locations nationwide.

DRONE BASES NATIONWIDE

You can see state-by-state summaries of the DoD plans on selected state No Drones sites:

CALIFORNIA: Count of California Drone Bases Tops National List
FLORIDA: Bristling with Drone Bases
MARYLAND: Drone Experience A Harbinger for U.S.A.?
NORTH CAROLINA: First in Flight? Or First in Drones?
TEXAS: Will Texas Skies Soon Be Full of Drones?
VIRGINIA: Six Drone Bases?
WASHINGTON STATE: State to Base Drones?

BORDC MODEL LEGISLATION

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) has released model drone legislation to assist local communities and states in the growing battle against domestic surveillance drones. BORDC worked with the organizers across the country who have been leading the opposition against rushed drone proliferation. The American Friends Service Committee, Alameda County Against Drones, the No Drones Network, and the Tenth Amendment Center all consulted on the language.

More background on the model legislation here.

Model legislation - fulltext, with annotations.

LOCAL LEGISLATION

A growing number of localities are passing ordinances or laws on drones:

ALABAMA Huntsville - Some residents against drone test sites coming to Huntsville

CALIFORNIA Ranco Mirage - California city to vote on banning drones

FLORIDA - Florida Senate Passes Anti-Drone Bill, 39-0

Hernando County / Tampa - Hernando commissioners turn down drone testing at airport

IDAHO - Idaho Restricts Drone Use by Police Agencies Amid Privacy Concerns

ILLINOIS - The Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act – Senate Bill 1587 – is designed to place modest guidelines on the use of this powerful technology. The bill, for example, would bar the arming of drones, except in certain emergencies. The bill also would curb how much information could be gathered by drones and require annual reporting to the public about the use of drones in Illinois. Act now: tell your state senators to regulate surveillance drones!

IOWA Burlington - pending ordinance to restirct drones

MINNESOTA St. Bonifacious - No drones over St. Bonifacius, says this small-town City Council

MISSOURI Statewide - Missouri House Endorses Ban On Drones, Critics Say It Goes Too Far

TENNESSEE - SB0796/HB0591, or the “Freedom from Unwanted Surveillance Act,” has passed both the Senate and the House, but continues to go through procedural modifications.

TEXAS

VIRGINIA Charlottesville - Charlottesville first city to pass aerial drone ban

WASHINGTON Seattle - Seattle Mayor Bans Police From Using Drones

Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 

in the April Days of Action Against Drones!

Faith-based Groups and the April Days of Action Against Drones

A vital group of allies in the April Days of Action Against Drones in city after city have been faith-based groups.

Indeed, faith-based groups like the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pax Christi, American Friends Service Committee, 8th Day Center for Justice, and others are longstanding stalwarts in the antiwar movement. In recent years, the broad-based National Religious Coalition Against Torture has brought many additional members of the faith community into the struggle for human rights, peace, and justice.

Drone strike reenactment during Good Friday justice walk in Chicago.

Faith-based groups have sponsored a number of events during the April Days:

CHICAGO - Performance of The Predator, a play challenging the traditional Christian teaching about "just war."

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA - Good Friday Stations of Justice, Peace, and Nonviolent Resistance to Lockheed Martin, King of Prussia, PA

FT. BRAGG, NC - Quaker House vigil against drone base at Ft. Bragg.

In fact, a major letter on drones was released by faith leaders in the U.S. on Easter - March 31 - the eve of the "official" start of the April Days. On April 16, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) led a group of faith-based organizations in sending President Barack Obama a letter questioning the lethal use of drones..

In the past year, other moves have been made by the faith community to provoke a broad conversation on drones. Notably, the Episcopal and Methodist denominations have adopted resolutions about drones. This summer Medea Benjamin of Code Pink and the author Drone Warfare circulated a letter for faith-leaders regarding the lethal use of drones.

A blog, Awake to Drones, was begun to provide a diverse range of faith-based responses to drones.

There is much, much more work for the faith community to do in addressing the problem of drones. As Indiana peace activist Dave Lambert has said, "Dr King, at Riverside, said 'the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today (is) my own government.' It would be wonderful, in my estimation, if caring clergy and lay people could heed Dr. King’s message and speak out against the slaughter in the name of 'fighting terrorism.'"

Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 

in the April Days of Action Against Drones!

Media Coverage of April Days of Action Against Drones

The April Days were off and running when the Guardian reported on March 27:

Military bases, universities and companies involved in Barack Obama's drones programme are to be targeted in a month-long series of protests by activists keen to build on the renewed public focus over the president's controversial policy.

Dubbed "April Days of Action" by participants, organisers are hoping to capitalise on a series of recent controversies that have thrust the use of drones – especially when it comes to targeted killings of suspected terrorists – into the heart of American political debate.

(The Guardian: Anti-drones activists plan month of protest over Obama's 'kill' policy)

Since then, press reports have increased daily. Other highlights have included:

U.S. News & World Report: Activists Organize Nationwide Series of Drone Surveillance Protests

Russia Today video on Youtube: Eye in the Sky: Protests against drone use hit New York

Truthout: "April Days" to Protest Drone Killing and Surveillance, Long Planned, Gets Boost From Opposition to Drone Use Inside the US

Huffington Post: Anti-Drone Activists To Protest Obama Killing Program

In These Times: 10 Signs of a Growing Uprising Against Killer Drones

Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 

in the April Days of Action Against Drones!

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

"Targeting killing" - statecraft from the dark side

A fascinating illustration of the U.S.-Israel "good cop, bad cop" routine was on display at the University of Chicago last night (February 25, 2013).

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.

Ostensibly, the talk was about the fact that the Obama administration is taking too many liberties with its "secret kill lists." Much mention was made of the secret legal memo justifying the Obama killings. (You can download the secret memo here.) On its surface, the talk was disguised to be "critical" of what the U.S. is doing.

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. Make no mistake, Guiora is the very model of a modern major military-intellocrat. After listening to him intone the words "targeted killing" in the midst of all his "point one, point two, point threes" and "I humbly submits" and "to wit, the followings" ... it was possible for one's mind to become numb, and to almost begin to think that "targeted killing" is a notion that we have to accept.

Almost. But not quite.

The most important thing for any of us to remember is that WE choose the frame of the debate - and we DON'T have to passively accept whatever we're offered. And certainly not from an apologist for state terror like Amos Guiora.

"Targeted killing" is not the business of a legitimate state. Full stop. (To coin an Amos Guioraism.)

PS - In the course of eliminating the drone menace, a MAJOR task will be understanding the way in which the United States and Israel have conducted an intimate two-step to (1) justify their own state terror against civilians, and then after provoking resistance by those civilians, (2) used that resistance to trump up the idea of "The Terrorist Threat," against which a global permanent war must be waged, complete with abject state of permanent fear on the part of all of us, and abdication of all the checks on government power that might possibly stop the killing.

Watch the Amos Guiora talk at cis.uchicago.edu. Judge for yourself. And then get involved in changing the terms of the debate.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For immediate release

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Israeli Drone War Expert to Illustrate Ties between Gaza Atrocities, Obama Administration Killings, say Activists

Monday, February 25th, 6:00 pm, 1414 E. 59th Street

For more information:

Kait McIntyre, Anti-War Committee, 815-988-8631
Joe Iosbaker, Anti-War Committee, 773-301-0109
Hatem Abudayyeh, United States Palestinian Community Network, 773-301-4108

Area antiwar activists say a Chicago lecture on Monday by an Israeli legal theorist who has helped provide the justifications for "targeted killing" programs like the one pursued by the Obama Administration, illustrates a clear tie between Israeli atrocities in Gaza and the U.S. drone killing program.

Entitled “Legitimate Target: A Criteria Based Approach to Targeted Killing,” the talk by Amos Guiora at the University of Chicago is expected to lay out a formula developed and used countless times by the Israeli government before ultimately being adopted by the Bush and Obama administrations.

“When Guiora was Israel's Legal Advisor for the Gaza Strip, he said Palestinians killed and injured are ‘legitimate targets,’” said Hatem Abudayyeh of the United States Palestinian Community Network. “Guiora’s use of words like “collateral damage" and "legitimate targets" has now been adopted by the U.S. to cover the thousands massacred by extrajudicial U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen.”

As the calls for the release of the secret legal memo justifying the Obama Administration's targeted drone killing program increase nationwide, Chicago-area activists say the legal essentials of the Administration policy are being laid clear for all to see in the lecture by the Israeli expert.

“As another Israeli legal advisor, Daniel Reisner, has said, ‘International law progresses through violations,” said Kait McIntyre, protest organizer with the Anti-War Committee of Chicago. “According to Reisner, ‘[Israel] invented the targeted assassination thesis and [Israel] had to push it. Eight years later it is in the center of the bounds of legitimacy.’

The Anti-War Committee of Chicago and the United States Palestinian Community Network, together with a coalition of anti-war and solidarity groups, will hold a protest at the University of Chicago’s International House against Amos Guiora's talk, beginning with at 6:00 press conference in front of 1414 E. 59th Street.

Can we make "No Drones" go viral on Facebook?

In support of the call for "No Drones" protests nationwide in April, we have begun a campaign to grow "No Drones" Facebook pages for every state.

Please "like" these pages and share them with your friends!

Know Drones USA (main page for continuous feed of updates about opposition to drones)

No Drones Florida on Facebook

No Drones Illinois on Facebook

No Drones Michigan on Facebook

No Drones Missouri on Facebook

No Drones North Carolina on Facebook

No Drones Ohio on Facebook

No Drones Texas on Facebook

No Drones Virginia on Facebook

No Drones Wisconsin on Facebook

Connect with more state-level "No Drones" groups.

Drones: What are YOU prepared to do?

In recent days and weeks, there have been a growing number of public events designed to educate the public about the problem of drones and drone killing. The speakers range from Congressmen . . . to high-profile antiwar figures . . . to people engaging in civil disobedience . . . to participants in the recent Code Pink Pakistan delegation . . . to leaders of drone education tours.

The common thread in all these events is -- or should be -- the message they all give to audience members: Now it's time for YOU to carry this conversation forward!

The only hope we have is to get a far greater number of people involved in the talking about and resisting the drones menace. All of us belong to groups -- whether church groups, book groups, community associations, peace and justice groups -- where the issues of drones and drone killings can and should be discussed.

As anyone who has attended any of the drone education events knows, the background information needed to carry this conversation forward is relatively easy to obtain. The big need is for people who have the courage to take the conversation to the next step. There are really just five questions, and everyone is able to participate in discussing them:

(1) Is it wrong? Whether you come at it from a faith perspective, or another ethical grounding, or a political philosophy, or just gut instinct, everyone is capable of looking at the facts surrounding drone killing and addressing this most important question. (For some examples of people tackling this problem, see the Awake to Drones project.

(2) Is it urgent? (A good place to start is by looking at the proliferation of drone bases, drone training, and drone experimentation in the U.S.)

(3) Who's in control? Many people disagree about who, really, is calling the shots when it comes to U.S. warmaking. Does Congress have anything to say? Is it all just the President? CIA? The generals? Or some other forces? We need to be honest with ourselves about how far out of control the drones have gotten.

(4) What kind of resistance is effective? Every day, there are new efforts to resist the rapid increase in drone warfare, drone killing, and drone surveillance. (Many examples are on the No Drones Network site.) What's effective? That's still being determined. That's why your participation and thinking is needed.

(5) What are YOU prepared to do? The only hope we have is to get a far greater number of people involved in the talking about and resisting the drones menace. All of us belong to groups -- whether church groups, book groups, community associations, peace and justice groups -- where the issues of drones and drone killings can and should be discussed.

As anyone who has attended any of the drone education events knows, the background information needed to carry this conversation forward is relatively easy to obtain. The big need is for people who have the courage to take the conversation to the next step. There are really just five questions, and everyone is able to participate in discussing them:

(1) Is it wrong? . . . .

Drones Activism: Big Stories in the No Drones Network

Below are links to some of the most viewed pages during the past 6 months on sites in the No Drones Network. Obviously, this is just a sampling of drones activism nationwide -- but a great place to start! (What are you prepared to do?)


CHICAGO: Taking the NO DRONES! Message to the Masses at Chicago's Air & Water Show: "As we sit here in comfort, and ooh and ahh over these war machines, it's important that we remember, that when the rest of the world hears these sounds, it means that their lives may soon be ending." (Read more . . . . )




WISCONSIN: Welcome to Oshkosh! (got drones?): David Soumis and Lars Prip from No Drones Wisconsin greeted visitors to the largest airshow in the country -- EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin* -- on Saturday, July 28, with the 1/5-size replica of a Reaper drone (which the recently obtained from Know Drones) and signs that said "Flight Emergency: A Drone Impacting Your Aircraft," "Fly Safe in U.S. Airspace: NO DRONES," and "No Drone Eyes in Our Skies." (Read more . . . . )



OHIO: Ohio Congressman Michael Turner: Stop the Drones!: The following is a letter to Congressman Michael Turner, who represents Ohio's 3rd congressional district. It was sent in connection with a visit to Rep. Turner's office on Friday, September 14, part of the Know Drones tour of the Dayton/Springfield/Columbus area. (Read more . . . . )







INDIANAPOLIS: My visits to Pakistan and Kurdistan: JoAnne Lingle of Indianapolis on the Code Pink peace delegation to Pakistan: "We want to reach out to the people there to show that we care about their lives; we want to show the American public how civilians are being targeted by drones; we want to come back to the US and tell the stories of drone victims. Our larger goal is to stop the drone strikes." (Read more . . . . )




MISSOURI: September 10: Put the Drones on Trial! Join Ramsey Clark, Kathy Kelly, Ann Wright and Bill Quigley: The defendants, Ron Faust of Kansas City and Brian Terrell of Maloy, Iowa, participated in the April 15 “Trifecta Resista” protest at Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base, from where killer drones engage in combat in Afghanistan by remote control. The protest at Whiteman is one of many in response to the US government’s increasing use of drones in recent years, but the trial in Jefferson City is the first time that charges have been filed not in local courts but in US District Court. (Read more . . . . )


CHARLOTTE: DNC Ends, NC Drone Protests Accelerate: Chapel Hill, Durham and Beyond: The week of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte was marked by protests against drones -- both in Charlotte itself, in Chicago (the site of Obama 2012 campaign headquarters), and in other locations. (Read more . . . . )

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: Beale: Occupy Militarism, Ground the Drones, Shut the Base Down!: Protests and No Drones Encampments are held monthly at Beale Air Force Base, one hour north of Sacramento, near Marysville. Beale pilots control the Global Hawk, an important surveillance and reconnaissance drone that plays an important role in finding military drone targets and coordinating information before and during drone strikes. Pilots at Beale witness the carnage and devastation of drone strikes and are complicit in the assassination program. (Read more . . . . )

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: San Diego: Protests of Drone Maker General Atomics Go Global: Members of the San Diego chapter of Veterans for Peace (VFP) and a growing body of fellow protesters gather every week at the headquarters of the company that supplies the workhorse of the U.S. program of drone killing and drone surveillance -- the Predator and Reaper drones. Their goal in demonstrating outside the General Atomics facility is to heighten public awareness of the problems presented by drone technology, and to instigate oversight of drone use. (Read more . . . . )

FLORIDA: Why We Need to STOP the Raytheon Drones Killing Machine : A Raytheon spokesperson reportedly responded to the protest against his company's killer drone role by playing the employment card: "Here in Largo and St. Petersburg, Raytheon has more than 1,000 employees making communication products and systems that protect our national security and help keep America safe," said Peter Ramjug, according to the Tampa Bay Times. (See Drone maker Raytheon target of first RNC-related protest.) Apparently, the "communication products and systems" he refers to are the laser-guidance systems on the PAVE 500-lb bombs Raytheon supplies for drones. (Read more . . . . )

PENNSYLVANIA: September: Know Drones in Pennsylvania: Bethlehem and Bucks County: "Hino Haitham, a Lehigh University grad student born in Yemen, said the problem with the drones is not its planned use as law enforcement tools locally, but its current use as military weapons. Haitham's experience with drones came in 2009, when a drone strike in a village where she had family killed 40 civilians. 'They hadn't heard of Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida or anyone else like that,' she said. An international rights group has a lawsuit in the works regarding that strike, Haitham said." (Read more . . . . )

MARYLAND: Calling for End to Drone Research at Johns Hopkins University: On Tuesday May 8, nine activists, as part of an action organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR), occupied the office of the president of Johns Hopkins University (JHU) for eight hours, calling on the university to end the drone research that is being conducted at the Applied Physics Lab (APL). (Read more . . . . )



INDIANA: A Drone Tragedy Revealed in Indiana: Mr. Robert Rast's son, Navy corpsman Benjamin Rast, was killed accidentally in a Reaper drone strike in Afghanistan in April 2011; that strike also killed Marine Staff Sergeant Jeremy Smith. Robert Rast has set the replica up in his front yard and sits with it, telling those who stop what happened to his son. (Read more . . . . )



For more actions No Drones activity around the country, visit the sites listed on the right-hand side of this page! (What are you prepared to do?)