Carol Anne Grayson (Radical Sister) blog

Reprieve Press Release (December 2nd 2012)

The Court of Appeal in London today heard from the lawyer for a civilian drone strike victim, who is seeking answers over the UK’s role in supporting the CIA’s covert programme in Pakistan.

Noor Khan, from Datta Khel, North Waziristan, lost his father, Malik Daud Khan, in a March 2011 strike which hit a local meeting of elders which had gathered to resolve a chromite mining dispute. The court heard today that the strike killed 40 – 50 people, and that Mr Khan continues to hear drones overhead, engendering fear in the community.

Mr Khan is being assisted by human rights charity Reprieve and lawyers Leigh Day in bringing a judicial review of the UK Government’s reported policy of providing support for the CIA’s drone campaign. The campaign – carried out by the US intelligence agency using unmanned aircraft known as ‘drones’ – has been criticised for violating both domestic and international law by legal experts and rights groups.

Mr Khan (28) is asking the Foreign Secretary to clarify the Government’s position on sharing intelligence for use in CIA strikes, and challenging the lawfulness of such activities.

Earlier this month the Home Office refused Mr Khan a visa to travel to the UK to give evidence to a Parliamentary meeting to discuss drone strikes.

The two-day hearing is taking place today and tomorrow (2-3 December).

Reprieve Legal Director, Kat Craig said: “The court today heard about the devastating impact which the drone campaign has had on civilians in Mr Khan’s community. Yet the UK Government is fighting tooth and nail to keep its own part in this illegal and immoral programme under wraps. Ministers must come clean over whether our spies are supporting the CIA’s secret war, which has killed hundreds of civilians and terrorised many more.”

ENDS

http://www.reprieve.org.uk/investigations/drones/

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

“what goes around comes around”

When I first looked up “tacopter” a mixture of the word taco, a corn or wheat food item you can fill with meat, vegetables and cheese and the word “helicopter” it initially sounded novel. The idea that such was the advance in technology, in the future our takeaways and books we had ordered could be delivered to our doors by an unmanned aerial vehicle. Imagine Amazon bringing you Downton Abbey by drone, endless options for their use http://news.sky.com/story/1176325/amazons-hopes-for-drone-deliveries

However after the initial amusement, something nagged me… Questions quickly arose, what would happen to those who porter food and books to earn a living, how much would our skies be disturbed, how safe were drones, what legislation was in place? The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the body that regulates commercial drones in the US and is working to make them legally viable by 2015 though this may be an optimistic as opposed to a realistic timescale.

I have for several years been writing daily on armed drones operated by governments and relied on for surveillance supposedly for our security though often having the opposite effect. I have challenged on a daily basis the deeply disturbing ethical and legal issues as drones eliminate “alleged” insurgents that have never been through fair judicial process and often obliterate civilians deemed “collateral damage. It seemed important and fair however to separate and acknowledge other non armed drones that had a positive purpose such as monitoring climate change, surveying disaster emergencies and drone journalism. In these examples drones could access areas difficult for humans and even save lives.

Commercial drones and personal drones had generally been considered relatively safe compared to armed drones if appropriate legislation and controls are put in place. However I was left still feeling uncomfortable at the thought of a future where winged messengers filled our skies… but hadn’t people felt the same way regarding early aviation.? Was I just getting more resistant to change as the years went by?

I was woken up again by a BBC article detailing the arrest of four people allegedly using a personal drone, a remote controlled hexicopter to fly tobacco and mobile phones into Calhoun state prison, Georgia in the US. This is not the only case as there have been others in Canada, one reported recently at Hull jail on its way to delivering other contraband such as drugs. Stephane Lemaire, president of Quebec’s correctional officers’ union informed the Ottowa Sun, “this sort of thing happens often, all across Quebec” Sun http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/11/26/drone-sets-off-security-alert-at-hull-jail

Surely then, this could just as easily have been knives and guns transported into prisons. Small personal drones are clearly breaching security and it was recorded that other institutions, Trois-Rivieres and Chicoutimi “use nets draped over the perimeter to catch any contraband thrown over the walls.”

As Susan Karlin reported from the “Burning man ” festival in the Nevada desert;

“This year, the hot technology was personal drones—remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. The craft, which included fixed-wing planes and multicopters, were typically equipped with stabilizers, GPS, and first-person view systems. These enabled precision maneuvering while allowing the operator to see from the UAV’s point of view.”

There are already plans by private security firms (Japan) to use drones in the field of surveillance as detailed in Gizmodo; “Secom’s upcoming drone is a customized Ascending Technologies quadrotor outfitted to spot and follow ne’er-do-wells like nosy, mobile security cameras. The drones will have the ability to track suspects with lasers, and know better than to rush into melee range. They won’t be making their actual debut until 2014, at which point they can be rented for ¥5,000 ($58) per month.”

So as technology progresses further and commercial and personal drones become more user friendly, will we see ordinary citizens adapting them in illegal ways, perhaps even using them for personal vendettas. Drones can be operated on land, sea and air, with seemingly endless possibilities for use depending on practicalities and individual imagination. In the future will we see the jealous husband or wife using personal surveillance drones to track the movements of their spouse or as this cartoon depicts advise of a relationship break-up.

What about those with a grudge against governments… could insurgents adapt personal drones to carry home made bombs into checkpoints and do away with the “martyrdom operations”… the “suicide bomber”. Time to reflect on the case of Rezwan Ferdaus sentenced to 17 years by a US court for plotting to attack the Pentagon with the aid of an explosive laden model aircraft.

What about security at major events such as the Olympics and World Cup. Could such venues be targeted by personal drones… If a hexicopter can “whizz over” over a prison wall it can surely drop its load over a stadium. Will personal drones be the future of assassination, targeted killing? Governments have had the upper hand on drone technology in recent years but is that about to be challenged? What will governments think of drones then? There is an old saying, “what goes around, comes around” and that day may not be too far off!

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Anti-drone activists supporters of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf  (PTI) party, CodePink and Representatives of Jamaat -i-Islami gathered outside UN offices in New York to campaign for an end to the use of armed drones which have killed many civilians. As Saeedullah Khan who lives in Pakistan said earlier this week:-

“This drone strike was an attack on us, on our provincial government. It was an attack on our territory, not the tribal areas. Who knows where the next drone will strike?”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/cricketer-turned-politician-imran-khan-leads-antidrone-protesters-in-blockade-of-key-nato-supply-line-8959637.html

Article on protest… http://www.geo.tv/article-128441-PTI-holds-anti-drone-protest-in-front-of-UN-in-New-York

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is ExecutiveCar Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Bring him home

Shaker Aamer has been held in Guantánamo Bay since 2002. He is a legal permanent resident of the UK, married to a British national, with four British children living in London.

Shaker has long been cleared for release by the United States. He has never been charged by the United States with a crime and has never received a trial. However, he has been repeatedly abused and subjected to extended isolation in Guantánamo Bay.

(Reprieve, Human Rights Organization)

The following is a letter sent from Shaker to family and friends via his lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith (Reprieve)

Dear Clive: Please

Tell my family I have been trying to phone them for a long time but they refuse to grant me a phone call.

I sent my wife two postcards: One for her, one for her mother.

Say salaams to everyone who asks about me and the same to people who do not ask about me.

Let my family know I am strong because they are strong.

My special thanks and gratitude to Jane Ellison, Joy Hurcombe, Mr Sadiq Khan MP, and Cortney and Cori – all of whom stand up for rights and justice. Please make sure you send a message and tweet to all of them, I am very very thankful. I am overwhelmed by their love, care, prayers and help. I know for a fact my debt to them is more than I can ever pay back. No matter what I do I pray for their guidance and happiness in this life and the hereafter.

Also thank-you Clive for everything you have done and are doing still for bringing justice. Also my thanks go to David Remes for everything he has done and a special thanks to brother lawyer Ramzi Kassem and his team for the good words they have been sending me, even though I have not replied.

Sorry that I did not mention everyone by name and that I cannot mention them in person. However, even if I do not know all of my supporters it is not really important because God knows all of you and He will not forget your good deeds.

Your brother and friend, if you chose

Shaker Aamer  🙂

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

“Those who recoil in horror at the mention of Taliban beheading captives applaud targeted killing programmes which decapitate civilians”

There is a certain bizarreness to the hypocrisy of the west on judging what they deem to be human rights abuses. Taking stoning for example, many in the west were up in arms regarding the possibility of married adulterers being subjected to this form of punishment under sharia law in Afghanistan. Stoning has rightly been rejected. The Guardian reported that,

“after several days of silence in the face of growing international outcry, the justice ministry said in a statement that although stoning had been proposed it would not appear in the new legislation because there was “no need to regulate the issue”.

The country’s penal code already encompasses sharia law, but some controversial aspects of traditional punishments such as stoning have never been put on the books in Afghanistan.”

However many of those that are so vociferous on what they view as barbaric and uncivilized behaviour are cheering on the the use of drones and justifying another form of barbaric and uncivilized behaviour. Isn’t civilians being buried under tons of rubble as bad as the pain of stoning?

Those who recoil in horror at the mention of Taliban beheading captives applaud targeted killing programmes which decapitate civilians. As Faisal bi Ali, Jaber from Yemen recently testified to US Senate, the missile strike in his area was akin to “a mountain falling on the community” with legs, arms and a head strewn on the ground.

Politicians that voice fury on hearing of women attacked and burnt with acid feel nothing when reading articles where children are incinerated by drones and sanitize charred bodies as acceptable “collateral damage”.

Eye witness account of carbonized drone victims give to Co-ordinators for Voices For Creative Non-Violence:-

“The social worker recalled arriving at a home that was hit, in Miranshah at about 9pm (May 2009). The drone strike had killed at three people. Their bodies carbonized were fully burned. They could only be identified by their legs and hands, one body was still on fire when he reached there. Then he learned that the charred and mutilated corpses were relatives of his who lived in the village, two men and a boy aged seven or eight.  They couldn’t pick up the charred parts in on piece. Finding scraps of metal they transported the body parts away from the site. Three to four others, joined in to help cover the bodies in plastic and carry them to the morgue. But these volunteers and nearby onlookers were attacked by another drone strike, 15 minutes after the initial one. Six more people died. One of them was the brother of the man killed in the initial strike.”

Those that see red at the mention of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) blowing up soldiers in Afghanistan will argue until the cows comes home that drones are legal and ethical. Though not in the eyes of shepherd Reshan Khan who lost 15 members of his extended family that were blown to pieces in a drone attack and so traumatized “he stares into the distance blankly unable to speak of his ordeal.”(DAWN)

As H.E. Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva said in his speech of 14th November on lethal autnomous weapons and drones, the pressing questions should worry the international community.

“When a weaponised drone is piloted from thousands of miles, who bears the responsibility for humanitarian violations in its use? When vital data related to the use of weaponised drones is withheld from scrutiny, how can compliance with international law, international humanitarian law and ethical standards be verified?”

See full speech here… http://justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads//11/The-Holy-See-Statement-Lethal-autonomous-weapons-and-drones.pdf

I commend PTI Chairman, Imran Khan for organizing blocking of the NATO supply line in protest against drone strikes and for naming CIA director John Brennan and alleged CIA station chief Craig Osth for allegedly “committing the gross offenses of committing murder and waging war against Pakistan.”

So often western governments that want to police the world on human rights are the worst violators even allegedly committing war crimes. There is little accountability. Human rights are not a bag of pick and mix sweets, those who claim to uphold human rights should stop being selective and recognize violations whoever is the perpetrator!

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

“Drones and so called war against terror is itself a disease”

I awoke this morning to hear that 11 polio workers that were kidnapped two days ago by militants and had been moved to an area controlled by militant leader Mangal Bagh and his Taliban-affiliated group, Lashkar-e-Islam had been released by intervention of a jirga and appeals from human rights activists. This time I did not anticipate the workers being physically harmed but that there would be a message attached to the kidnapping. There is a message, “a tribal elder, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the militants freed the teachers on condition the government stop sending polio teams to the area” (Reuters)

At this point I do not think its fair or possible to keep sending traumatized workers to deliver vaccines to the community in volatile areas unless there are significant changes that could open the door for meaningful dialogue.

Stopping drones strikes is a matter of urgency and crucial as a key step towards addressing difficulties faced in carrying out the vaccination programme in Pakistan, not least the kidnapping and sometimes killing of health workers as well as practicalities of administering the vaccine. Many outside Pakistan will not understand the connections between drones and polio and may be misinformed by some media and and aid agencies and that is part of the problem.

I have written several articles on polio and in previous articles addressed the appalling act by the CIA going undercover using a vaccination programme and the services of Dr Shakil Afridi to locate Osama bin Laden. The backlash of this was the kidnapping and killing of polio workers alleged to be “spies”. This led to a breakdown of the programme and now a rise in cases of polio in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan) an area of ongoing conflict.

There are many myths and misconceptions in relation to polio and I am not just referring to those living in Tribal Areas that reject the vaccine, some claiming its a plan to sterilize Muslims. There are misunderstandings from aid agencies that don’t always know what is happening on the ground and may not be the most appropriate people to assist or at the frontline of vaccination in Pakistan anyway.

For a start there were assumptions by some NGOs and parts of the media that all the past killing of polio workers was carried out by one group and usually blaming the Taliban. However when I asked Taliban about claiming responsibility for deaths they said “not in every case. In some cases we had no involvement.” So there may be several risk factors for workers from different sources which would need to be identified as far as possible. However I believe a way would only be found to progress if drone strikes stopped and dialogue could start officially.

The Taliban control key areas where polio is on the increase… There is a need to explore thinking from key stakeholders, though to some that is substantially more threatening than people killing each other. Also what others might easily dismiss as propaganda on polio I see as reasoned thinking.

An estimated 50,000 people have died in Pakistan due to fighting America’s War on Terror, often caught up in the fighting between the army and the Taliban, in addition civilians are killed in drone strikes

To sum up the main points given to me by Taliban as follows:-

We are not opposed to healthcare per se but can’t ignore spy operations under their cover

Enemies want to vaccinate children before droning them

Our children are not dying of polio but other factors.

Most of our organisations operate within the framework defined by those fighting us. Someone with bleeding wounds does not worry about a pimple

When your house is raided, you fight. Vaccinations and green tea afterwards.

I had a conversation with a member of the National Institute for Pakistan studies who was suspicious of my concern over the polio vaccine and referred to the wider problems of society. He said, “they (aid agencies) are just focusing on polio vaccination which is too much controversial in Pakistan. we have hospitals but no doctors and medicine in it, we have schools but no books and faculty for it, 70% Pakistanis are under poverty.” The problem is with even with strong finance, a comprehensive health programme and the best will in the world how can these wider problems be tackled under the anger and resentment caused by US drones, inaccessibility to tackle problems and fighting America’s war.

Isn’t it about time aid and health organizations campaigned to stop drones if they want to promote a successful polio programme with the safest vaccines administered by locals trained and trusted within their communities.

After discussion I was invited to visit Pakistan and see the situation for myself as I was told that NGOs don’t listen to what the people want. I do believe that one of the main problems in society is failing to hear what people say and accepting that we don’t always get things right first time. I was left with the following words ringing in my head,

“Drones and so called war against terror is itself a disease”

My contact emphasized, how could residents in FATA believe that the west with their behaviour did not want people of the Tribal Areas to be harmed by polio. There is rightly a huge credibility and trust issue here and vaccines and those who promote them are seen to have their roots in the west.

“They are our enemy… we don’t need their vaccination, they should not kill us by drones!”

Thanks to PTI for images

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Earlier this week the Express Tribune reported that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami and Defence Council of Pakistan (DPC) Chief, Samiul Haq had called on Imran Khan to nominate Obama in a First Investigation Report (FIR) filed against the drone strike in Hangu and for drones to be shot down. While there is no sign that the Pakistan government will order firing at a drone in the near future, Imran Khan is firing away at the US with an FIR in an effort to make the US accountable for its actions. 

Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehrek -e-Insaf (PTI ) has sent a written request to the Inspector General of Police (IPG) at Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) to charge the CIA and US in the FIR for the recent drone attack in Hangu which killed several people. On hearing of the strike, Khan tweeted that this was “an unacceptable US drone attack in Hangu, KP, simply on assumption of possible future terrorism” and that “the KP govt will identify and give out the names of the Hangu drone victims to expose the lie of drones killing only ‘militants'”. There are reports of children being killed in this latest attack and a photograph of a bloodied child’s shoe (though unconfirmed) is doing the rounds on social media to remind people of civilian casualties.

PTI have campaigned for several years against armed drones holding several dharnas, a peace march to Waziristan and currently blocking the NATO supply line. Khan has repeatedly called drone strikes counterproductive stating on 21st November that “the drone killings will once again create more militants and extremists vowing revenge for the killings of Hangu. Why is Nawaz govt silent?”

PTI Press Release on FIR 25-11-2013

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf nominates America and CIA in the First Information Report (FIR) lodged here today by Party’s Central Legal Affairs Secretary.

In his meeting with Inspector General Police Mr. Nasir Durrani, Barrister Salman Afridi had requested to register a formal complaint against American Administration and its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for carrying out illegal, extrajudicial and dreadful strikes against innocent civilians and Children at Hangu on November 1.

Anchoring upon news of Washington Post, official statement of Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry and Peshawar High Court’s verdict on predator strikes within Pakistan’s territorial boundaries earlier this year in April, the PTI leader urged the provincial Police Chief to book US and its superior spy agency for this particular strikes within the boundaries of an independent and sovereign state to assassinate innocent civilians.

Mr. Nasir Durrani, the IGP KPK assured to lodge formal FIR, as requested and to take stern action subsequently.

Earlier, Information Minster Shah Farman, Revenue Minster Ali Ameen, Education Minster Atif Khan, Finance Minster Siraj Ul Haq, IT Minister Shahram Taraki along with other cabinet members and provincial legislators marched towards US Consulate at Peshawar and handed over official Memorandum to American RSO Christopher Backon condemning drones strikes in Hangu. Meanwhile formal communiqué had also been handed over to UN Officials station at Peshawar.

END

The following report are the words of Afghan Taliban (date 25th November 2013)

In recent years we have seen an intensification of the American’s reliance on drone warfare. This report examines the reasons for this new found strategy and the prospects for its future use.

After the 9/11 attacks on American soil, the American politicians embarked on a series of aggressive campaigns. They imagined that they will win a quick and successive series of campaigns in the Islamic World and thereby permanently change the geo-strategic scale in their favor. Instead, after more than a decade of waging war and committing atrocities, the US has finally come to realize that their military adventures have proved nothing short of a debacle. They US military finds itself neck deep in a quagmire and incapable of pulling themselves out of it. The aggressive wars the US has waged in Afghanistan and elsewhere has left the US militarily exhausted, financially bankrupt, and politically discredited. As a result of these wars and their financial costs, the US has lost all appetite for further military adventures and has been dislodged as the world’s sole super power. It has instead been demoted to the position of a regional power that needs the cooperation of other regional powers when operating outside its own sphere of influence. In Syria for example, Obama’s regime was incapable of acting when the Assad’s regime used chemical weapons against their own citizens because Obama failed to secure the consent, or at least passivity, of regional powers such as Russia and China. Such examples not only illustrate American hypocrisy vis-a-vis secular and Islamist polities in the Muslim world but more importantly it shows that the US is no longer able to act unilaterally in this region. The US has openly acknowledged that for this century it will radically change its grand strategy, pivot towards the Pacific and focus on containing the rising influence of China, rather than squandering its resources in distant theatres.

However despite the need for addressing its pressing strategic necessities, the US has found it hard to divorce fully from their so-called War on Terror. For whatever reason, the US policy makers have been unable to let go of their obsession with this War waged exclusively against Muslims. The truth is that the US media, spurred on by their government counterparts, has spent so much time propagating against the Muslim world and demonizing them into a perpetual security threat that now the US government is beholden to its own propaganda and therefore must somehow continue their struggle against the Islamic world. For the past 14 years the US military has tried every trick in the book in order to defeat their self-proclaimed opponents. Nowhere has this been more true that in the case of Afghanistan. Here the US first attempted to defeat the Afghan Mujahideen, under the leadership of the Amir ul Mu’mineen Mullah Omar (HA), through conventional military methods. After a decade of futile fighting the US decided to change its tactics and instead implemented a counter-insurgency strategy formulated by their beloved commander, David Petraeus. Having failed to defeat the Afghans through this strategy as well, the Obama regime has given up all hope of every defeating the Afghan nation into submission. It has openly declared the desire to leave Afghanistan. However, conscious of maintaining at least a semblance of continuing this war, the Obama regime has instead resorted to using unmanned drones that are both inexpensive financially and non-costly in terms of human lives.

When we look at the issue in this context, it becomes quite clear why the US has intensified and expanded their drone operations. Having tried all means of defeating the proud Afghan nation the US has achieved nothing except swell the ranks of their opponents (i.e. Mujahideen), squander its own military resources, drain its finances and undermine what little support there was for these aggressive wars with their domestic audience. Acutely aware of not wasting any further military or financial resources and also to appease their domestic critics, Obama and his regime have instead started resorting to unmanned drone strikes against their enemies. To Obama and his supporters, the drones must be quite a publicity stunt. Firstly these unmanned planes are quite inexpensive compared to other strategies (such as flying thousands of soldiers into Afghanistan and not yielding any tangible benefit). Secondly these drones are hard to shoot down and even when shot down they do not result in any casualties. Thus the lack of these immediate casualties means that there is no immediate backlash at Whitehouse’s own backyard. Thirdly when these drones strikes do martyr a high profile target, it provides for excellent publicity stunt for Obama as he can feign to be fighting and winning a successful counter insurgency campaign.

However Obama and his military advisors must be keenly aware that they are risking grave long term detriments in exchange for gaining these short term benefits. That this drone strategy is short-sighted is undisputable. Why Obama would continue this short-sighted policy can be explained by the nature of democracy where winning the next election is often more important than securing the long term interests of the nation. It is worth keeping in mind that these drone strikes have only been able to target those that have been very active in the public sphere and thus prone to be targeted through a number of means. The drone strikes have virtually been of no use against targeting the more important symbolic leaders of the opposition to the American aggressors. Any leaders that suspect being targeted by drone planes inevitably retract their public profile and instead delegate their operational duties to other less known associates. In other words, most of those targeted by these drone strikes are operational commanders. The targeting of these commanders cannot disrupt any of their activities because these commanders always nurture several delegates who are able to take over and resume activities in the event of the death or capture of any operational commanders.

The disadvantages of these drone strikes however stems from two fatal weaknesses. Drone strikes are inherently unreliable and indiscriminate. Drones are unreliable because they rely on either ground-fed reports or aerial surveillance for identifying potential targets. Ground fed intelligence is cumbersome, slow and prone to inaccuracies. Aerial surveillance is even more unreliable. Furthermore drones are indiscriminate because they mostly rely on missiles for shooting targets. Such weaponry naturally results in a lot of casualties all of whom might not necessarily be involved in any activity against the US. Due to these two weaknesses drone strikes cause disproportionate civilian casualties. These high proportion of civilian casualties in effect ferment a lot of hatred against the US in the affected areas. The affected local populations, traumatized by such attacks, begin to view the Americans as a discriminate and immoral force that is willing to sacrifice the lives of the locals in order to attack a small number of their enemies. This in turn drives a lot of the civilian populace, especially from amongst the young, into the arms of the Mujahideen. Not only that but more importantly, these drone strike work with a double edge because they illustrate that the host government of these areas, often allied with the US, lack full sovereignty and are unable or unwilling to protect their own citizens. Thus the drone strikes unwittingly undermine support for the very same government, whom they intended to shore up support for through these strikes.

However, fundamentally, the drone strategy betrays a far more crucial fact than mere tactical failure. What it shows is that America is no longer a military power confident of itself. It can no longer assert itself militarily. The financial and military cost of a counter-insurgency means that the US has abandoned all hope of defeating its self-proclaimed opponents militarily. It is instead satisfied with a few cosmetic operations that continue the semblance of American determination to continue this war but which in reality achieve nothing substantial on the ground and yield the entire battlefield to its opponents who roam at will and institute their programs in it. Moreover, this half-hearted and self-defeating policy means that it is undermining what little American credibility there is left in these countries. The people of the drone-affected areas have now come to see what the US truly is – a paper tiger which a superficial claim to be the greatest empire of all time. America would do far better to detach itself from emotions and to reexamine if this aggressive war against the Muslim world is a cause worth fighting.

“the government will have to bear the burden of any terror attack that follows now as a result of its vacillation on ending drones and commencing dialogue”

Shireen Mazari (PTI)

The action taken by Imran Khan and Pakistan Teheek-e-Insaf is clearly getting to the Nawaz Sharif government that appears impotent on drones. In terms of action, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) PMLN are a big flop with Shireen Mazari (PTI Central Information Secretary). She responded to Minister Pervaiz Rashid’s recent tirade against Imran Khan stating, “clearly, the Minister seems to have lost his marbles after being unnerved by the success of the PTI’s call for NATO supplies’ blockade.”

PMLN was accused by Mazari of silently backtracking on its electoral commitments and against its manifesto. While Khan was firing on all cylinders during an anti-drone protest at Peshawar drawing in a crown of thousands on Saturday, Nawas Sharif”s response to drones is an ineffective dribble as he gives one message to the Pakistani people and another to President Obama.

Showing considerably more balls than the government, Mazari said, “it is becoming evident that the Prime Minister gave some covert understandings to the Obama Administration which has now resulted in utter confusion within the ranks of the PMLN”. She highlighted divisions within the government on drone policy and alleged PMLN was lying to the people about stopping drones while quietly supporting the US.

PTI and Stop the War anti-drone campaigners assembled in London at the week-end to vent their outrage at the killing of civilians and call for an immediate end to drone strikes. Protesters carried coffins symbolic of the destruction caused by drones from Downing Street (where a petition was handed in to the Prime Minister David Cameron) to the US Embassy. The petition called for the UK government to,

“publicly disclose the facts and legal basis for drone strikes carried out in Pakistan and information about any investigation into killings by US drones; ensure prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all cases; and bring those responsible for unlawful drone strikes to justice in public and fair trials without recourse to death penalty”

Ex ISI chief Javed Ashraf Qazi attempted to justify drone strikes in Pakistan by issuing a list of 37 Al-Qaeda & Taliban commanders killed in drone strikes. However Abdullah Khan of the Conflict Monitoring Centre, Islamabad was swift to point out the high numbers of civilian casualties stating, “if we follow his thoughts then there should be drone attacks in Islamabad if CIA finds a suspected militant here.”

Mazari claimed that the confusion and indecision within the government is making the security situation more acute and feared that a weak and confused government would increase the chances of terrorist attacks.

She also questioned the slow response to the sighting of US drones prior to missiles being fired on Hangu region and why on Sunday 23rd November when drones where spotted again that there was no response from government. The question on many people’s lips including Mazari is who aided and abetted the recent drone strike on Hangu? She reminded people that some in Pakistan are slaves for dollars so continue their subservience to US government.

CNBC reported the that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has submitted an adjournment motion in Senate against Hangu missile strike submitted by Raza Tabani and are calling for an immediate debate on the latest attack on a settled area.

An ISPR government press release today (5th Nov) announced Pakistan’s own drone development programme as follows :-

“Pakistan today inducted the 1st fleet of indigenously developed Strategic Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), namely Burraq and Shahpar UAV Systems in Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force. It is a landmark and historic event, wherein a very effective force multiplier has been added to the inventory of the Armed Forces.
In the future these UAVs could also be gainfully employed in various socio-economic development projects, as well” 

http://ispr.gov.pk/front/main.asp?o=t-press_release&id=2418#pr_link2418

Surely than as Pakistan is developing its own drone initiative this is another reason to say no to US drones..

Meanwhile as the government appears incapable of taking action to bring down US drones, PTI supporters continue to stop trucks and block NATO supply line. That action has not come without criticism though with some claiming drivers being checked for documents are being “roughed up”. However PTI’s Peshawar general secretary Younus Zaheer Mohmand told Dawn media, “the sit-ins will continue till the US halts drone attacks in Pakistan. We have clearly instructed our workers not to cause inconvenience to the transporters who were not supplying goods to NATO forces in Afghanistan. All commercial trucks can cross the border without any hindrance.”

The only thing the Pakistan government appears to be firing at the moment is blanks. One suspects that PMLN having failed to perform will now close its eyes, simply roll over and go back to sleep!

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

“We can and will block NATO supplies”… Imran Khan

“The sit-ins will continue till the US halts drone attacks in Pakistan. We have clearly instructed our workers not to cause inconvenience to the transporters who were not supplying goods to NATO forces in Afghanistan. All commercial trucks can cross the border without any hindrance” 

PTI’s Peshawar general secretary Younus Zaheer Mohmand told Dawn media.

Thanks to PTI supporters for images

LINKS

Cricketer turned politician Imran Khan leads anti-drone protesters in blockade of key NATO supply line http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/cricketer-turned-politician-imran-khan-leads-antidrone-protesters-in-blockade-of-key-nato-supply-line-8959637.html

Imran Khan vows to continue to blockage NATO supplies until end of drone strikes http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/23-Nov-2013/imran-khan-vows-to-continue-blockage-nato-supplies-until-end-of-drone-attacks

Broken… http://www.thepakpolitics.com/bbforum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1783&sid=76febba87045ab6c9b81c81ba6ebd035

Drone protesters block NATO supplies in Pakistan (video) clip http://www.digtriad.com/news/national/article/307214/175/Drone-Protestors-Block-NATO-Supplies-In-Pakistan-

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.