Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Pauline Muchina and Michael Merryman-Lotze - The U.S. has killed thousands of people with lethal drones – it’s time to put a stop to it

The brutal US regime has killed thousands of innocent people with drones, and many were children. Rather than defeat terrorism, it has strengthened it. Local businesses and livelihoods have been destroyed, and family members murdered, so people turn to Jihadism.

For years, the American Friends Service Committee has joined other organizations in calling for a ban on drone warfare. The United States’ use of lethal drones has killed thousands of people – including hundreds of children – and displaced countless others. Instead of making the U.S. safer, drones have undermined efforts to end conflict and build stability and viable economies in countries around the world.

But the government’s secrecy around its use of lethal drones has concealed the real human toll of these attacks. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen have killed between 8,500 and 12,000 people, including as many as 1,700 civilians – 400 of whom were children. This is a conservative estimate of how many civilians have been killed, especially since who qualifies as a "combatant" is widely disputed. These figures also don’t include killings in Iraq, Libya, and other countries.

American Friends Service Committee 

Pauline Muchina and Michael Merryman-Lotze - Pauline Muchina and Michael Merryman-Lotze