Save Pakistan from US drone attacks

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Comment by Tony Nuspl on January 8, 2013 at 1:52pm

McChrystal, Ex-Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, Questions Drone Warfare

Speaking to Reuters, the former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, retired General Stanley McChrystal, became one of the highest-ranking former military officials to publicly question the drone attacks, saying: "The resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes ... is much greater than the average American appreciates. They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who’ve never seen one or seen the effects of one."

Former Adviser: Obama "As Ruthless and Indifferent to the Rule of Law" as Bush

A former adviser to Obama on security issues has forcefully come out against drone warfare, saying it is encouraging arms proliferation worldwide while causing unknown civilian casualties. Writing in this month’s issue of International Affairs, La Salle University’s Michael Boyle, an adviser on the Obama campaign’s counterterrorism expert group in 2007 and 2008, writes: "[Obama] has been just as ruthless and indifferent to the rule of law as his predecessor. ... The consequences can be seen in the targeting of mosques or funeral processions that kill non-combatants and tear at the social fabric of the regions where they occur. No one really knows the number of deaths caused by drones in these distant, sometimes ungoverned, lands."

U.S. Drone Strike Kills 8 in Pakistan

A U.S. drone attack has killed eight people in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan. Pakistani officials say the dead are suspected militants, including an al-Qaeda operative. Three people were injured. The attack follows another strike in Pakistan that killed up to 18 people on Sunday.

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/8/headlines#180

Comment by Tony Nuspl on September 14, 2012 at 1:37pm

Pakistan Parties Uniting Against Drones

by Ashfaq Yusufzai, September 14, 2012

 

Even the smallest political parties have realized that opposition to the military operation and the drone strikes could pay dividends in the election.

“Drone strikes are against the country’s sovereignty,” Dr Ikramullah Khan of the Swabi Qaumi Mahaz party told IPS. “These have killed innocent women and children, which is against the United Nations charter and conventions.” He said the impending military action in North Waziristan would spell disaster.

About 300,000 of the population of 5.8 million in FATA have been displaced by military operations, Dr Ikramullah Khan said. Military action in North Waziristan would make more people homeless and bring no results, he said.

Chief of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Aftab Ahmed Khan said use of force has fed terrorism in tribal areas and elsewhere.

“We would never allow the government to launch military action in North Waziristan because it would produce more terrorists rather than paving way for peace,” he told IPS.

The prevalent unrest in FATA could be resolved by dialogue, he said. The military action would affect the poor population who had already been suffering heavily from the military operations, Aftab Ahmed Khan said.

President Asif Ali Zardari from the PPP, widower of Benazir Bhutto, is using delaying tactics to start the North Waziristan operation despite U.S. pressure. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) also wants the government to stay away from the operation and adopt the path of dialogue.

Staunch opponent of drone strikes and the military operation Imran Khan has gone a step further.

“We will hit drones when I become prime minister,” Imran Khan told IPS from Dubai. “Talks are the only solution to the problem in Waziristan and elsewhere,” he said.

“We will enter Waziristan with 100,000 people on October 6,” he told a news conference in Islamabad earlier on Aug. 30. “I would take international media to let them know the quantum of destruction caused by drone attacks.”

The government should step down if it cannot protect the lives of common people, he said.

The U.S.-led war on terror is increasing terrorism and there was no end in sight, he said. “Killing innocent people in drone strikes and military operations will produce terrorists.”

http://original.antiwar.com/ashfaq-yusufzai/2012/09/13/pakistan-par...

Comment by Tony Nuspl on September 14, 2012 at 1:37pm

Pakistan Parties Uniting Against Drones

by Ashfaq Yusufzai, September 14, 2012

 

Even the smallest political parties have realized that opposition to the military operation and the drone strikes could pay dividends in the election.

“Drone strikes are against the country’s sovereignty,” Dr Ikramullah Khan of the Swabi Qaumi Mahaz party told IPS. “These have killed innocent women and children, which is against the United Nations charter and conventions.” He said the impending military action in North Waziristan would spell disaster.

About 300,000 of the population of 5.8 million in FATA have been displaced by military operations, Dr Ikramullah Khan said. Military action in North Waziristan would make more people homeless and bring no results, he said.

Chief of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Aftab Ahmed Khan said use of force has fed terrorism in tribal areas and elsewhere.

“We would never allow the government to launch military action in North Waziristan because it would produce more terrorists rather than paving way for peace,” he told IPS.

The prevalent unrest in FATA could be resolved by dialogue, he said. The military action would affect the poor population who had already been suffering heavily from the military operations, Aftab Ahmed Khan said.

President Asif Ali Zardari from the PPP, widower of Benazir Bhutto, is using delaying tactics to start the North Waziristan operation despite U.S. pressure. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) also wants the government to stay away from the operation and adopt the path of dialogue.

Staunch opponent of drone strikes and the military operation Imran Khan has gone a step further.

“We will hit drones when I become prime minister,” Imran Khan told IPS from Dubai. “Talks are the only solution to the problem in Waziristan and elsewhere,” he said.

“We will enter Waziristan with 100,000 people on October 6,” he told a news conference in Islamabad earlier on Aug. 30. “I would take international media to let them know the quantum of destruction caused by drone attacks.”

The government should step down if it cannot protect the lives of common people, he said.

The U.S.-led war on terror is increasing terrorism and there was no end in sight, he said. “Killing innocent people in drone strikes and military operations will produce terrorists.”

http://original.antiwar.com/ashfaq-yusufzai/2012/09/13/pakistan-par...

Comment by Tony Nuspl on June 4, 2012 at 6:07pm

US Drone Strikes Kill 33 in Past 24 Hours in Pakistan
reporting by Jason Ditz,
June 03, 2012

The majority of the slain “suspects” were unidentified.

Pakistan’s government has regularly demanded that the US halt all drone strikes, warning that it is fueling massive amounts of militancy in the tribal areas and making matters worse. The significant number of civilian deaths, and the overwhelming number of people killed who are just never identified, have added fuel to a growing anti-US backlash across both Pakistan and the rest of the region.

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/06/03/us-drone-strikes-kill-15-in-past...