David Swanson reports for War Is A Crime.org:
Thirty-two U.S. peace activists, including 6 members of Veterans For
Peace are taking part in a peace delegation to Pakistan organized by the
anti-war group Code Pink.
See video: http://vimeo.com/50666774
Wednesday the delegation met with U.S. Charge d'Affaires Richard
Hoagland. U.S. peace activist Robert Naiman asked about reports of
secondary attacks on rescuers of drone victims. Ambassador Hoagland
denied that rescuers are targeted, but not that strikes are launched on
the same location just struck minutes before.
Hoagland also said that he agreed with President Obama that the
number of civilian deaths was near zero, but later seemed to contradict
himself when he said that number he believed was accurate was in "two
digits." When asked to be more specific as to whether that number was
closer to 10 or 99, he declined.
VFP President Leah Bolger asked: "Since you know exactly where we
intend to go, presumably the CIA and the DoD know as well, so can you
guarantee us that there will be no drone strikes in the area while we
are there?" He then gave a 100% guarantee that there would be no
strikes on the group. Bolger followed up with: "So if we just position
Americans throughout the region, can we guarantee the safety of the
Pakistanis as well?"
He replied that most of the "militants" in the
area are foreigners -- not Pakistanis -- and that they come in and take
over. He said that the local people would be very pleased to have them
go.
On Wednesday and Thursday the delegation met with drone victims, with
more such meetings planned for Friday. The families of the victims
related a very different story than that purported by the Charge.
Karim
Khan, described the deaths of his son and his brother in a 2009 drone
attack, as well as the damaging psychological effects of having up to
six drones circling overhead 24 hours a day. Khan's story is featured
in the book "Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control," which was
written by the delegation's leader, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin.
See also this article. And this one.
The
Pakistan National Defense University (NDU) was the site on Wednesday
for a presentation by retired U.S. Army colonel and former diplomat Ann
Wright, a lead member of the Code Pink delegation against drones. The
delegation was invited to appear by the Dean of the Faculty of
Contemporary Studies and was attended by an enthusiastic audience of NDU
students as well as several high ranking officers.
Wright
emphasized the illegality of the U.S. drone program which violates the
sovereignty of other nations, and also allows President Obama to be the
‘judge, jury and executioner’ when he gives the go-ahead for
extrajudicial signature drone attacks.
More...
Friday, October 5, 2012
Americans in Pakistan Meet Families of Victims Obama Says Don't Exist
A Briefing on Iran's Nuclear Program
A briefing on Iran's Nuclear Program. From the discovery of atom power,
the utilization of this new science for the bombings of Hiroshima &
Nagasaki and the resulting "nuclear dilemma." Covering the institutions
created in answer to the nuclear dilemma: the United Nations (UN), the
"Atoms for Peace" initiative, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC). After this a look at the history of Iran's
nuclear program and the current standoff: the West's demands that Iran
cease enriching, and Iran's refusal citing its inalienable right to a
peaceful nuclear program under the NPT. And finally a look at the
intelligence about Iran's nuclear program, and a little rhetorical jab
at the end.
http://www.inceptionhouse.com
image from http://www.spitting-image.net
