A
new report by the law schools of Stanford and NYU, says that the US drone program is "counterproductive" and is "terrorizing" civilians in Pakistan.
“Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest
Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning.
Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to
anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities. Those
living under drones have to face the constant worry that a deadly strike
may be fired at any moment, and the knowledge that they are powerless
to protect themselves. These fears have affected behavior.”
The report goes on to say that some children have stopped going to school for fear of being killed by a drone strike.
The NY Times reported recently that "Drones have replaced Guantánamo as the recruiting tool of choice for militants."
In addition to making us less safe on an international scale, 56 domestic government agencies, mostly law enforcement, have been authorized by the FAA to fly drones in US airspace. One of the drone manufacturers, Vanguard Defense Industries, touts their ability to weaponize drones for local police departments. They can be equipped not only with warrantless spying technology (Boeing calls their Inceptor drone "an eye in the sky") but they can also deploy tear gas, tasar technology, rubber bullets and more.
Drones represent the murder of innocents, war without time or geographical limits, illegal targeted assassinations, a permanent war economy and the end of freedom as we have known it.
Is this the world we want? Time to raise our voices to ban weaponized drones. Watch this video, then please sign the petition to
Ground Drones and join us October 13 in New Paltz.
