Drones and Democracy

On an aside, I absolutely loathe the word "democracy", which, before you demand I be burned at the stake or crucified, literally means mob rule.

Kathy Kelly and Joshua Brollier
Truthout -

On May 12, the day after a US drone strike killed 24 people in Pakistan's North Waziristan, two men from the area agreed to tell us their perspective as eyewitnesses of previous drone strikes.

One is a journalist, Safdar Dawar, general secretary of the Tribal Union of Journalists. Journalists are operating under very difficult circumstances in the area, pressured by both militant groups and the Pakistani government. Six of his colleagues have been killed while reporting in North and South Waziristan. The other man, who asked us not to disclose his name, is from Miranshah city, the epicenter of North Waziristan. He works with the locally based Waziristan Relief Agency, a group of people committed to helping the victims of drone attacks and military actions. "If people need blood or medicine or have to go to Peshawar or some other hospital," said the social worker, "I'm known for helping them. I also try to arrange funds and contributions."

Both men emphasized that Pakistan's government has only a trivial presence in the area. Survivors of drone attacks receive no compensation, and neither the military nor the government investigate consequences of the drone attacks.

Dawar added that when he phoned the local political representative regarding the May 12 drone attack, the man couldn't tell him anything. "If you get any new information," said the political representative, "please let me know."

In US newspapers, reports on drone attacks often amount to about a dozen words, naming the place and an estimated number of militants killed. The journalist and social worker from North Waziristan asked us why people in the US don't ask to know more.

It's hard to slow down and look at horrifying realities. Jane Mayer, writing for The New Yorker, ("The Predator War," October 26, 2009), quoted a former CIA official's description of a drone attack:

"People who have seen an air strike live on a monitor described it as both awe-inspiring and horrifying. 'You could see these little figures scurrying, and the explosion going off, and when the smoke cleared there was just rubble and charred stuff,' a former CIA officer who was based in Afghanistan after September 11th says of one attack."

"Human beings running for cover are such a common sight," Jane Mayer continued, "that they have inspired a slang term: 'squirters.'"

Continue reading.