2013 Drone Summit: CODEPINK has organized a second annual International Summit on Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance, in Washington, DC, Nov. 16 & 17. The Summit will gather together grassroots and human rights advocates, lawyers, writers, technology experts, artists, musicians; and include the stories of people in Pakistan and Yemen who have survived or lost loved ones from US drone strikes.Check here for a live broadcast of the Summit.

Killer Drones Don’t Make Anyone Safe.

While the US is slow to admit that drones are killing civilians and wreaking havoc on communities, various human rights groups from affected countries, as well as the UN, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have all reported civilian deaths and injuries and destabilization brought on by US drone strikes.

License to Kill: Why the American Drone War on Yemen Violates International Law stands out as a clear indictment of the US use of weaponized drones as illegal under any circumstances. The AI drone report, “Will I be next?” and the Human Rights Watch report, “Between a Drone and Al-Qaeda” call on the US government to ensure that victims of illegal (vs. legal?) drone strikes, including family members, have access to compensation and rehabilitation. Four years ago Congress did establish a fund to aid drone strike victims in Pakistan. Yet very little of the $40 million so far appropriated has been distributed to the affected families. Read more here.

The Drones Are Coming, Time to Mobilize.

The post The Drone Issue appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Many questions remain unanswered, but a few things are clear. For the past twelve years the U.S. government has conducted military operations in Muslim countries displacing millions of people, and maiming and killing thousands. Many of the victims have been women and children. This has led many to believe that the U.S. has declared war on the religion of Islam. Today the U.S. military is possibly gearing up for an attack on another predominately Muslim county Syria.

As we mourn the loss of U.S. lives we must ask ourselves what the loss of Muslim lives means to us? Should we expect Syrians, Yeminis, Pakistanis, Iraqis, Afghans and others to accept loss of life in their countries as a result of attacks that are ostensibly to keep our country safe? Do we believe that these military operations can continue and there will be no repercussions for the “collateral damage” of their loved ones’ deaths?

The news media, pundits and officials ask who radicalized the Tsarnaev brothers. But they never analyze or ask what role U.S. foreign policy may have played in pushing the brothers to violence. And we must consider how many others are simmering with rage over the deaths of innocent people caused by U.S. bombs, bullets, missiles and drones? In the 1980’s the U.S. government supported Muslim “radicals“ then called freedom fighters by fanning religious ideology and zeal against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The same logic and fervor U.S. policy makers manipulated as a strategic tool then is being directed as a religious war against the U.S., the West and its supporters, and anyone who does not agree with them Muslim and non-Muslim. Today citizens around the globe are facing the “unforeseen and unwanted effect, result, or set of repercussions” known as blow-back from the past 30 years of depraved U.S. polices in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the greater region.

Our national leaders call for moderate Muslims to control the “radicals” and stop the terrorism. Yet war is the primary means by which our government has chosen to relate to the Muslim world. These same leaders call for an end to the epidemic of gun violence killing thousands of people in the U.S. each year, but simultaneously support kill lists and the assassination of alleged terrorists, even U.S. citizens including a sixteen year old boy, with drones. We cannot call for the end of violence in our lives while we use violence and engage in war repeatedly as the primary instrument of U.S. foreign policy. We cannot rely on violence to end violence. “Do as I say and not as I do,” is not a recipe for effective leadership.

The cities of Newtown and Boston both need support and time to heal from the ordeals of violence and terror they have experienced. These communities just like communities in Yemen and Pakistan must overcome tremendous pain and sorrow due to the killing, maiming and suffering they have experienced. Parents, here in the U.S. and abroad, mourn their children; friends grieve for coworkers and hangout buddies. Human life is precious here and there. The grief we all feel is the same. More killing will not end the suffering. It will only bring new pain, new anger and the urge for more violence.  We need a new approach to foreign policy that does not rely on destruction and death, but on building communities and the affirmation of life; supporting and promoting diplomacy, conflict resolution, and dialogue as alternatives to war and retributive violence.

The billions of tax dollars spent on war can be used for development, education and promotion of human rights. They could be invested in communities to support mental healthcare programs and job creation. The resources used for killing could be used to build bridges between peoples, not widen the gulfs that separate them. The cycles of violence and death will end when we realize killing begets killing, while dialogue and restorative justice can break those cycles. Both Gandhi and King warned us that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. When will the U.S. see that our bombs are blowing out the light in thousands of children’s eyes? Some of them are own. The light is replaced by anger and darkness. It is time to stop our killing to stop the killing.

Take action today to support peace:
No U.S. intervention in Syria
End Drone Warfare
Redirect money from war spending to human needs, jobs creation and community building and development

Michael T. McPhearson, UFPJ National Coordinator, Veterans For Peace
Lisa Fithian, UFPJ National Convener, Alliance of Community Trainers
Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation
Cole Harrison, Massachusetts Peace Action, United for Justice with Peace (Boston)
Terry Rockefeller, 911 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Siri Margerin, Civilian Soldier Alliance/IVAW, Bay Area UFPJ
Michael Eisenscher, US Labor Against War
Rusti Eisenberg, Brooklyn for Peace, Legislative Working Group
Gael Murphy,  Legislative Working Group
Lee Siu Hin, National Immigrant Solidarity Network

The post It is time to stop our killing to stop the killing. appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The peace group CODEPINK and the legal advocacy organizations Reprieve and the Center for Constitutional Rights are hosting the first international drone summit.

On Saturday, April 28, we are bringing together human rights advocates, robotics technology experts, lawyers, journalists and activists for a summit to inform the American public about the widespread and rapidly expanding deployment of both lethal and surveillance drones, including drone use in the United States. Participants will also have the opportunity to listen to the personal stories of Pakistani drone-strike victims.

Time: 9:00am-6:30pm
Location: 900 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
Register now.

On Sunday, April 29 we will have a strategy session to network, discuss and plan advocacy efforts focused on various aspects of drones, including surveillance and targeted killings.

Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Location: 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20001
Sunday’s session is for representatives of organizations and individuals who want to be actively involved in this work. If you are interested in attending, please email Ramah Kudaimi at rkudaimi@gmail.com.

Topics will include:
-the impact of drones on human lives and prospects for peace
-the lack of transparency and accountability for drone operations, including targeted killings
-disputed legality of drone warfare
-compensation for victims
-the future of domestic drone surveillance
-development of autonomous drones
-drone use along U.S. borders.

Speakers will include:
-Clive Stafford Smith, director of UK legal group Reprieve that represents drone victims
-Medea Benjamin, author of forthcoming book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control
-Pardiss Kebriaei, attorney with Center for Constitutional Rights
-Shahzad Akbar, attorney with Pakistani Foundation for Fundamental Fights
-Rafia Zakaria, Amnesty International-USA Board of Directors
-Sarah Holewinski, director of Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
-Hina Shamsi, ACLU national security expert
-Jay Stanley, ACLU privacy expert
-Tom Barry, drone border expert with Center for International Policy
-David Glazier, law professor who served 21 years as a US Navy surface warfare officer
-Amie Stepanovich, legal counsel at Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
-Trevor Timm, activist at Electronic Frontier Foundation
-Peter Asaro and Noel Sharkey from the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC).

You can register now or visit our website for more information.

Please contact Summit Organizer Ramah Kudaimi at rkudaimi@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Make sure to invite your friends on Facebook and follow @WarDronesOn for updates.

Endorsed by the Center for International Policy, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Global Exchange, Peace Action, United For Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the Washington Peace Center and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. 

The post Drone Summit: April 28-29, 2012 appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

by Peter Finn

AUSTIN – The suspect’s house, just west of this city, sat on a hilltop at the end of a steep, exposed driveway. Agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety believed the man inside had a large stash of drugs and a cache of weapons, including high-caliber rifles.

The post Domestic use of aerial drones by law enforcement likely to prompt privacy debate appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.