Saturday, November 16, 2013

Drones In Trouble Today

There are several story lines about drones developing in the news these days.

They are robotic.

02/21/13 bb      Drones toss and catch inverted pendulum

You can make your own drone, but you can't arm it.

04/12/13 bb   Nano Quadcopter open source tiny drone kit

Iran captured a drone back in 2011 and has now replicated it.

12/16/2011 y        Iran may have captured U.S. stealth drone by hacking its GPS
10/21/13 g    Iran gives Russia copy of US ScanEagle drone as proof of mass production
"US spy drone given to prove Iran's forces have mass produced the drone they claim to have captured a year ago..."

Civilians are being killed:

03/15/13 bij    Pakistan government says ‘at least 400 civilians’ killed in drone strikes

04/23/13 sen    The Senate Judiciary Committee discusses "Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing”    Chairman Durbin to preside.

Civilian losses are worse than military gains:

10/11/13 mccl      Malala Yousafzai tells Obama drones are 'fueling terrorism'



Targeting is not precise:

04/09/13 mccl    Obama’s drone war kills ‘others,’ not just al Qaida leaders
"Information, according to one U.S. intelligence account, indicated that Badruddin Haqqani, the then-No. 2 leader of the Haqqani network, would be at a relative’s funeral that day in North Waziristan. Watching the video feed from a drone high above the mourners, CIA operators in the United States identified a man they believed could be Badruddin Haqqani from the deference and numerous greetings he received. The man also supervised a private family viewing of the body.
Yet despite a targeting process that the administration says meets “the highest possible standards,” it wasn’t Badruddin Haqqani who died when one of the drone’s missiles ripped apart the target’s car after he’d left the funeral.

It was his younger brother, Mohammad.

Friends later told reporters that Mohammad Haqqani was a religious student in his 20s uninvolved in terrorism; the U.S. intelligence report called him an active member – but not a leader – of the Haqqani network. At least one other unidentified occupant of his vehicle perished, according to the report."

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/04/09/188062/obamas-drone-war-kills-others.html#storylink=cpy
 
08/01/13bij     Drone strikes in Pakistan - Bureau investigation finds fresh evidence of CIA drone strikes on rescuers.  "Double tapping" it is called. 
  
 
The struggle against targeted killing by drone has been going on for a while:

07/15/2011 gu   Campaigners Seek Arrest of Former CIA Legal Chief over Pakistan Drone Attacks
"UK human rights lawyer leads bid to have John Rizzo arrested over claims he approved attacks that killed hundreds of people"
 10/23/13 jc     Rights Groups: Some US Drone Strikes are War Crimes
"... it is hard to believe that a group of labourers, or an elderly woman surrounded by her grandchildren, were endangering anyone at all, let alone posing an imminent threat to the United States."

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/04/09/188062/obamas-drone-war-kills-others.html#storylink=cpy
10/25/13 aw   US Dismisses UN Criticism, Insists Drone Strikes ‘Just’



10/29/13 aw     "She Was Exploded to Pieces" Survivors of Drone Strike in Pakistan Testify to Members of Congress
“I am a human being,” Rafiq Rehman told the Huffington Post. “I just came here to speak the truth and I want people to know that I have children who have been injured." 
 10/31/13 r    As drone victims testified to Congress, Obama met the arms company which makes missiles for drones



The government is covering its tail:

03/08/13 du      Air Force erases drone strike data amid criticisms
 

The UN is beginning to look at civilian casualties:

10/18/13 bij       US must release data on civilian drone casualties, says UN report


10/30/13 jc    Pakistani family testifies to empty room on Hill about US Drone that killed Granny

11/01/13 to      "These Drones Attack Us and the Whole World Is Silent":  New Film Exposes Secret US War
"The film opens with the story of a 16-year-old Tariq Aziz, who was killed by a drone just days after attending an anti-drone conference in Islamabad."


 Civilians are killed by pot-shots done for target practice

11/04/13 fp   Teenagers Are Droned, And a Family Cries Out

 "The U.S. says it was hunting militants on August 8. The dead boys' brother has a different story."


"There Shall Be No Peace Talks" says the CIA...
 
11/02/13 jc    CIA Drone Kills Pakistan Taliban Leader on Eve of Peace talks with Islamabad
"This context for the drone strike has to raise the question of whether John Brennan, head of the CIA, is deliberately attempting to forestall Pakistan-TTP peace talks and is determined to prevent Nawaz Sharif and Obama from cementing a strong relationship. Pakistani officials are talking about a ‘sabotaging’ of the talks."

11/04/13 aw      Afghan and Pakistani Govts United in Criticism of US Drone Strike - Peace Talks Stalled More Or Less Permanently 

11/08/13 to    Drone Strike Served CIA Revenge, Blocked Pakistan's Strategy



People seek an end to drone warfare.



11/10/13 oen      50 Organizations Seek Ban on Armed Drones
These organizations back the campaign to ban weaponized drones:
Alaskans For Peace and Justice
Antiwar.com
Arlington Green Party
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
BFUU
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Brave New Foundation
Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases
Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East
Code Pink
Drone Free Zone
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
Granny Peace Brigade-NY
Hoosiers for Peace and Justice
Indiana Anti-Drone Project
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace
Jeannette Rankin Peace Center
KnowDrones.com
LA Laborfest
Montrose Peace Vigil
National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
Nevada Desert Experience
The Northampton Committee to Stop War
On Earth Peace
Peace of Mind Project
People United for Peace of Santa Cruz County (PUP)
RootsAction.org
Santa Cruz Against Drones (SCAD)
Simple Gifts Inc.
Sitkans for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice
Veracity Now
Veterans For Peace
Veterans For Peace Chapter 10
Veterans For Peace Chapter 27
Veterans For Peace Chapter 91
Veterans For Peace Chapter 154
Veterans For Peace, Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter, Baltimore, MD
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
WarIsACrime.org
War Resisters League
Wasatch Coalition for Peace and Justice
West Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition
Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)
Women Standing
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section
World Can't Wait
Yorkshire Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament"



No comments:

Post a Comment