Kelly's Sharebook 

The CIA's drone strike program has stirred up a lot of controversy.

In this program, the CIA sends unmanned plans out to bomb specific targets in an attempt to combat terrorism - aka the Taliban and Al Quaeda.  While the program does seem to be causing problems for terrorists, it has also killed a good number of innocent, completely uninvolved civilians.  And yet, the program continues.  In fact, the number of strikes have only increased with time - though the program was the brainchild of the Bush administration, the Obama administration has latched onto it and continually upped its use.

Why is this being allowed?  Does this program not violate human rights by killing innocents?  Though the strikes' objective may be to combat terrorism, and therefore protect human rights, we are no better than the terrorists if we blithely kill civilians along the way.  War is no bed of roses.  It's terrible.  It's hell.  Innocents will always die some way or another in its path, and some things can't be avoided.  But the U.S. government knows that the drone strike program is killing civilians.  They know that deaths have been reported - although how many haven't been reported, the American people don't know, due to the secrecy of the program.  They know that the number of deaths has gone into the dozens.

It's not worth it anymore.

Stopping terrorists or not, if civilians continue to die, the program simply isn't worth it.  We're stopping terrorists from killing innocents, by killing the innocents ourselves first.  They won't need to bother bombing civilians - we're doing it for them.  Why is this program being allowed to continue unchecked?

One article that I read said that Obama wants to inspire confidence with this program, to show the American people that the government is doing something.  If the government wants to show that it's "doing something" about terrorism, it should just be sending in the peace corps and showing tolerance and acceptance for all, not raining destruction down on those who have done nothing wrong.

The CIA's drone strike program may be discouraging terrorists, but it's also killing uninvolved civilians - and the U.S. government knows it.  Isn't this a violation of human rights?  The international legality of the program has already been brought into question.  What's the point of stopping terrorists if we're going to kill innocents along the way?  And although the efforts of both the Taliban and the strikes seem to be focused mainly in Pakistan, strikes have also occurred in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan - less involved countries who definitely don't need the extra problems.  Especially Sudan, with a possible civil war looming overhead.  The U.S. government needs to reassess what it's doing.  This program needs to be stopped - or at the very least, monitored far more closely.  I have started a Facebook page - "Stop Civilian Death in CIA Strikes" - and written a petition against this program.  The people of the world need to step up and let the U.S. government know that what it's doing is not okay.  I thank God that every time a plane flies overhead, I don't have to cringe in fear.


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-forestall-civilian-death-in-cia-strikes

The CIA currently controls a program wherein drones - unmanned planes - strike specific areas in the Middle East, hoping to dispense of Taliban officials.  A BBC interview with a Taliban detainee indicated that the program is successful in frightening Taliban insurgents, and taking areas away from the Taliban that might previously have been deemed safe.  Many members of the Taliban have been killed in these strikes, and terrorism may be suffering some serious blows.

However, this program carries with it three major problems (besides the fact that people are dying, even if they are dangerous and terrorists).

First of all, the program is kept under tight wraps.  This is the CIA we're talking about, and the program is not available for a wide amount of scrutiny by other government organizations - such as the military.  The American people are not well informed enough to fully understand the drone strike program's itinerary or its implications.  More urgently, innocent civilians may be at high risk.  And it's difficult for anyone not the CIA to tell - because mistakes made resulting in civilian deaths might never be reported beyond the CIA.

There was one military investigation into the program fairly recently, and it reported the deaths of 23 civilians due to human error.  President Obama greatly increased the number of strikes since taking office, and, while most strikes have occurred in northwest Pakistan, other less involved countries such as Yemen, Somalia and Sudan have each confirmed deaths.  Since 2004, the program has caused hundreds of casualities - but how many were targeted terrorist victims, and how many were regular Pakistinians  going about their daily lives?  The CIA hasn't said.

Another of the worst issues the drone strike program has is that it seems to be working against American interests.  The capacity for the program to cause civilian deaths alongside targeted terrorists is angering native Middle Easterners.  Especially as robotic, unmanned planes destroy lives while their operators sit safely at computer screens, the program displays to tribal Pakistinians American cowardice.  Al Qaeda is reportedly finding it easier to recruit, as furious Muslim men find no satisfaction with American methods.  According to a retired military officer with contacts in the CIA, even certain CIA officials are beginning to protest the program within the agency, feeling that the program is harmful and counterproductive.

Finally, let's switch to those operating within the program itself.  A blog I read on politics.gather.com brought up the very valid point of how these killings affect the planes' "pilots."  With the push of a button, an American "pilot" can kill dozens of people some 10,000 kilometers away.  He or she will not witness the deaths, will not see the people before they are killed, and can go home at the end of the day to watch soap operas and eat potato chips.  While this may dispense with some of the ordinary psychological issues of killing fellow humans in war, is this cultivating a healthy way to view death?  Such detachment may create an almost video game mentality of war.

So to wrap everything up, this program may be protecting ordinary people by targeting terrorists, but it may be falling backwards and alienating probable allies.  Who knows?  As long as the CIA's drone strike program remains a mystery, we'll never get anywhere.  Philip Alston, the special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has argued that the CIA should turn the program's responsibilities over to the military, which has greater accountability.  But whoever holds the reins on these strikes needs to open up, and let the rest of us know what's going on.

To sign the petition asking the CIA to allow further scrutiny of the program:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-forestall-civilian-death-in-cia-strikes


Sources:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/06/20106325050780296.html

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/05/201053034934522302.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/07/AR2010060701986.html

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/dozen-dead-in-latest-pakistan-drone-strike/

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/12/what-if-predator-drones-work/31281/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/predator-drone-strikes-in_n_328744.html

http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977900120

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51706

I have a petition to help stop civilian deaths in CIA stikes in the Middle East, but it has only 41 signatures.  I'm trying to get it more exposure and get more people to sign it.  Please sign to help save uninvolved civilians!!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-forestall-civilian-death-in-cia-strikes

Thank you!