[Ann Wright, Jan. 6] Drones Kill Kids: Protesting in Hawaii Obama's Drone Program

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OpEdNews Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Drones-Kill-Kids-Protesti-by-Ann-Wright-130106-992.html

January 6, 2013

Drones Kill Kids: Protesting in Hawaii Obama's Drone Program

By Ann Wright

As President Barack Obama spent his last day, January 5, in Hawaii, representatives from Hawaii Peace and Justice and World Can't Wait protested his assassin drone program and lack of effort on Palestinian issues in front of his Hawaii vacation home. US citizen protests against the American drone assassination program will continue in 2013.

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As President Barack Obama spent his last day, January 5, in Hawaii, representatives from Hawaii Peace and Justice and World Can't Wait protested his assassin drone program and lack of effort on Palestinian issues in front of his Hawaii vacation home.

Drone protests in the United States over the past three years have had an effect on reducing the number of drone strikes and the deaths of civilians. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) reported on January 4, that probably due to public criticism, "civilian deaths fell sharply in Pakistan in 2012, with Bureau data suggesting that a minimum of 2.5% of those reported killed were civilians -- compared with more than 14% in 2011. This suggests the CIA is seeking to limit non-militant casualties, perhaps as a result of sustained criticism."

BIJ states that another reason for a decline in Pakistani strikes and civilian casualties may have been growing hostility. Some 74% of polled citizens said they view the US as an enemy, and that Pakistan was the only nation favoring Mitt Romney for US President.

Anti-American feelings in Yemen continue to grow with the increase in drone attacks in that country. Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula last week issued a bounty of three kilograms of gold for the assassination of the US Ambassador to Yemen and a bounty of 5 million rials or $23,350 for the death of an American soldier.

US citizen protests against the American drone assassination program will continue in 2013 in the Arc of Justice march in Washington, DC on January 21, the day of President Obama's inauguration.

Protests in New York, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Missouri, Hawaii, Maryland, North Dakota and Wisconsin are planned for later in 2013.

(Photos by Renie Lindley)

Author's Website: www.voicesofconscience.com

Author's Bio:

Ann Wright is a 29 year US Army/Army Reserves veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. In December, 2001 she was on the small team that reopened the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is the co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience." (www.voicesofconscience.com). 

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Ann Wright reported from her recent trip to Gaza. 'Code Pink' is the organization/delegation Ann traveled with :

'In Gaza, there is a "No-Go Zone" along the border where the Israelis shoot anybody in sight, even the farmers whose land it is.  And they're only allowed to fish in a 2-mile zone off the coast, which is terribly polluted because a waste-water treatment plant broke and was never fixed.  So they fish in 80 million gallons/day of raw sewage.  And drones buzzing constantly overhead.  The Code Pink Peace Delegation to Pakistan and Afghanistan was a real eye-opener, too.  There's a Displaced Persons Camp right across from a mega U.S./NATO base which is a modern little American City complete with MacDonalds and boasting eats galore.  And at the camp right across are little kids actually freezing to death because they have no blankets.  And did you know this--(I didn't)--the U.S. has a stated tactic of targeting rescuers, called "Double-tap"; that is, you kill your target with the first drone attack and then kill the people coming in to rescue survivors!  I'm completely ashamed to be an American.

Apparently drones are a huge growth market here, there's even course studies on "drone technology" being offered at universities. (Ann Wright)

( Forward from Kristin D. )