Wednesday, June 6, 2012Drones are being used on the US borders and in Honduras as well as in Pakistan, etc. It is time to build a coalition against them. Come learn and then join in the efforts to stop the use of killing by remote control.
See actions and more background below…
Medea Benjamin is a cofounder of both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 30 years. Described as “one of America’s most committed — and most effective — fighters for human rights” by New York Newsday, and called “one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement” by the Los Angeles Times, Medea has distinguished herself as an eloquent and energetic figure in the progressive movement.
In 2005 she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide. In 2010 she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize from the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Benjamin is the author/editor of eight books. Her latest book is called Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, and she has been campaigning to get lethal drones out of the hands of the CIA. Her articles appear regularly in outlets such as The Huffington Post, CommonDreams, Alternet and OpEd News. Medea can be reached at: medea[@]codepink.org.
Co-Sponsored by St. Louis Instead of War Coalition, Peace Economy Project, Catholic Action Network and Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA)
++++++++++++++++++++ read more about challenges to the drone policy
CIVIC, Amnesty International Challenge Admin on Signature Drone Strikes and Civilian Casualties
The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict has initiated a letter to the Administration challenging it to be more transparent about its drone strike policy, particularly regarding “signature strikes” and civilian casualties. The letter has been joined by Amnesty International and others. The issue has been given more urgency this week by the New York Times’ report that the Administration is counting “military age males” as “combatants” for the purpose of saying that few civilians are being killed by drone strikes.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1242
Kucinich/Conyers: Ensure Transparency and Accountability In The U.S. Combat Drone Program
The NGO letter tracks the Congressional letter initiated by Reps. Kucinich and Conyers.
Current signers of the Congressional letter include: Kucinich, Conyers, Holt, Jackson, Jr., Hinchey, Rangel, Stark, Honda, Grijalva, Filner, Lee. Urge your Rep. to sign: 202-225-3121.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1219
Action: Urge your Representative to sign the Kucinich-Conyers letter on drone strikes
Fifteen Members of Congress are pressing the Administration to come clean with Congress and the American people about civilian deaths resulting from drone strikes and so-called “signature strikes” that target unknown people. Urge your Representative to join them.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/kucinich-conyers-drone-letter
Yes, Virginia, We Can Do Something About the Drone Strikes
It may well be true that drone strikes to kill “high value terrorists” who are known to be planning attacks on Americans are wildly popular. But here’s what’s not wildly popular: killing innocent civilians. Fifteen Members of Congress are raising their voices. Others should join them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/obama-drone-strikes_b_1563081.html
Video: Stephen Colbert mocks “military age male” = “combatant”
“The administration has developed a brilliant system of ensuring that those building engulfing explosions don’t kill non-combatants: they just count all military age males in a strike zone as combatants…This isn’t just the president executing innocent people around the world by fiat, there is an appeals process. The men are considered terrorists unless ‘there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent,’ in which case, I assume, there is a legal process that un-kills them.”
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/414704/may-31-2012/the-word—two-birds-with-one-drone