Reports have been released recently by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claiming innocent civilians in Pakistan are being killed by US drone strikes.
In October 2012, Mamana Bibi, a 68 year old grandmother, was indeed one of those victims according to her grandchildren. The children recalled how they witnessed her death in front of their eyes while she was picking vegetables from the garden. The US has yet to acknowledge any part in the matter.
A similar case in July 2012 occurred where a series of US drone strikes killed 18 laborers including one boy. Bystanders immediately came to help the wounded in what was a horrific and gruesome scene, while US drones still hovered overhead.
Obama defended the use of drones, by saying that the unmanned airplanes would only be used if there was an "imminent threat," and when they was "near certainty" that civilians would not be hurt and "no other governments capable of effectively addressing the threat," CNN reported...... Yeah, Mamana's cucumbers might have been weapons of mass destruction. Good job taking care of that.
Between 400 and 900 civilians have been killed with many more injured according to NGO and the Pakistan government. Can you imagine walking around your village, with a drone hovering above you, not knowing if the US may decide to consider you a "terrorist" or a "security threat" and your life ending at any instant?
I can safely declare one thing: If the roles were somehow reversed, and Pakistan was sending its own drones into the US, with civilian casualties in the same range, there would be chaos. It would be utterly unacceptable and there would be dire consequences. So how does the US continue to be alright with "defending" against terrorism at the expense of innocent civilians losing their lives? Is that not a terrorist act in itself? Why is there seemingly no care for Pakistani lives lost? Are Pakistani lives worth less than American lives to the US government? Is that not a violation of "all men are created equal"?
http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/will-i-be-next-us-drone-strikes-in-pakistan
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/22/world/asia/us-drone-strikes-reports/
In October 2012, Mamana Bibi, a 68 year old grandmother, was indeed one of those victims according to her grandchildren. The children recalled how they witnessed her death in front of their eyes while she was picking vegetables from the garden. The US has yet to acknowledge any part in the matter.
A similar case in July 2012 occurred where a series of US drone strikes killed 18 laborers including one boy. Bystanders immediately came to help the wounded in what was a horrific and gruesome scene, while US drones still hovered overhead.
Obama defended the use of drones, by saying that the unmanned airplanes would only be used if there was an "imminent threat," and when they was "near certainty" that civilians would not be hurt and "no other governments capable of effectively addressing the threat," CNN reported...... Yeah, Mamana's cucumbers might have been weapons of mass destruction. Good job taking care of that.
Between 400 and 900 civilians have been killed with many more injured according to NGO and the Pakistan government. Can you imagine walking around your village, with a drone hovering above you, not knowing if the US may decide to consider you a "terrorist" or a "security threat" and your life ending at any instant?
I can safely declare one thing: If the roles were somehow reversed, and Pakistan was sending its own drones into the US, with civilian casualties in the same range, there would be chaos. It would be utterly unacceptable and there would be dire consequences. So how does the US continue to be alright with "defending" against terrorism at the expense of innocent civilians losing their lives? Is that not a terrorist act in itself? Why is there seemingly no care for Pakistani lives lost? Are Pakistani lives worth less than American lives to the US government? Is that not a violation of "all men are created equal"?
http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/will-i-be-next-us-drone-strikes-in-pakistan
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/22/world/asia/us-drone-strikes-reports/
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