Stopping the US Drone War: A Chilling Feature of the US War of Terror, Expanded by Obama Administration to Include Targeted Assassinations

Under the US global war of terror, 40% of the US budget goes to preserve and expand the US empire, killing people in the Middle East to protect a global system of exploitation. As an integral part of the terror program, drones are a weapon of choice. The Obama administration is coordinating drone strikes in at least six countries: Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan. In fact, these drones are being used eight times more by the Obama administration than by the Bush regime, in programs run by the military and the C.I.A. Obama’s Office of Legal Counsel argues that such strikes are legally justified under international law, basing its argument on the Bush doctrine of borderless, endless “war on terror.” On an almost daily basis, drones circle miles above Earth, following targets. The pilots may live and work out of Colorado or on a base in upstate NY or even in some other part of the world. In this new warfare, the pilot does his killing and then goes home for dinner with his family, remaining removed and aloof from the death and destruction caused by his work. When a home or other location is targeted, the drone cannot tell if there are civilians or insurgents in the vicinity – yet everyone who’s killed is called an insurgent. In addition to the speakers on our panel, we will show a brief video of our Occupy Wall Street Drone Teach-In.