Drone Summit 2013 Notes
by Denisse Giron, Long Island Peace Intern at Hofstra University
Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance –
Conference in Washington, DC, Nov.15-16, 2013
Hosted by Code Pink & many others
Dr. Cornel West
-“This is a love movement…love is what justice looks like”
-“Rich kids get taught, poor kids get tested” – on end of art programs
-“I come from a generation of people lifting their voice, not raising echoes [of mainstream media].”
-Education vs. schooling
-The importance of engaging in non-violent street action with a moral and spiritual foundation based on principle
-Congressional briefing with drone victims from Yemen: Tuesday. 11/19 @ Rayburn Building Room 2455, 4pm
Mary Ellen O’Connell – Kroc Institute
-Bush administration failed to acknowledge drone program + entered Yemen in 2004
-Days after entering office in January, Obama authorized a drone strike that killed a family, including a 5 year old
-Obama ordered doubling of drones when comparing 2008 to 2009 (Bush Admin vs. Obama Admin)
-United Nations Charter, Article 2: general prohibition to the use of force
-Article 51: gave exception to 9/11 because was in defense, but does not justify drone strikes because there is no armed conflict
-Self-defense ended in Afghanistan after 2002 – strikes are unjustifiable
-Attorney General Eric Holder said drone strikes within the US are unlawful but why not overseas? Biggest Al-Qaeda attack was in the US
-Need peace, reconciliation, and anti-terrorism around the world
Pardiss Kebriaei – Center Constitutional Rights
-500 = conservative number for people killed + 4,000 = liberal number for people killed (But neither number correctly reflects psychological trauma)
-Department of Justice’s definition of “imminence” doesn’t require clear evidence of specific attack in the immediate future
-Of thousands killed, US government only acknowledges 4 killed, all US citizens
-Many negative views and accusations of Anwar al-Awlaki
Marjorie Cohn – National Lawyers Guild/Association of American Jurists
-Congress only gave authority to defend against the people and organizations that carried out, aided, and supported 9/11 attacks = currently breaking law
-Congress has ability to executive check of powers
-Desmond Tutu in response to Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster: how dare you say that US lives are more important than others
-Armed but not lethal drones at Mexico-US border (rubber bullets)
Entesar al Qadhi -From Merab, Yemen
-First drone strike in her area 2002
-Most recent attack during celebration of Eid – 3 schoolboys killed
-Targets are supposed to be AQ but innocent victims are 16-30 years old
-Before US interference, did not know what AQ was
–Merab is one of the most resource rich areas, especially oil, but there are no universities
-“If you are against terrorism then you are against drones”
-New US focus in Yemen because government is absent in Yemen
Chris Cole – UK Drone Campaign Network (dronewars.net)
-3 nations have used drones: United States, Israel, and United Kingdom
-12 nations have faced drones strikes
-Drones bypass the need for boots on the ground and media scrutiny
-UK carrying out approximately 40% of drone strikes in Afghanistan = about 2 drone strikes per week
Elsa Rassbach – CODEPINK
-Germany has the most drone bases in Europe
-Many political parties, including SDP, agree to an international ban on fully autonomous drones
Dalit Baum – American Friends Service Committee/ Who Profits from the Occupation
-Israel is largest exporter of drones
-Gaza Strip approximately 25 miles long with 1.6 million people (1 million living as refugees)
-Heavily armed bulldozers used in Israel in refugee camps to take down houses, raids
– One report of man using bulldozer while drunk
-Have begun use of unmanned bulldozers controlled by remote controls, mostly women
-Heat sensors
– Said to be used to “reduce harm to human lives” despite exceeding the number of on-the-ground attacks
Faisal bin Ali Jaber
-Brother in law Salim gave lectures on targeted attacks and whether they actually were for AQ but no freedom of speech in Yemen
-After 22 hours into son’s wedding, 4 drones came down and killed Salim and nephew
-Before strike, officials came to make sure that Salim was home
-Great psychological damage in family: lost job and Salim’s mother went into a coma and died
-Described drones as toys in the sky = became accustomed to their presence
-“I am surprised we are fighting AQ…what is the definition of AQ?”
Baraa Shaiban – National Dialogue Conference
-Obama said anyone seeking democracy will find a friend in the United States but actions speak louder than words
-“No one would have thought that president who said he was a friend would authorize Special Forces to kill in secret”
-Tie between drone buzzing and PTSD
Amie Stepanovich – EPIC’s Domestic Surveillance Project
-Drone’s very reason for existing is surveillance
-Camera being developed to see what you are carrying in your bag
-Electronic stop and frisk
-In 2012, Congress passed law to use drones within the United States by 2015
-Customs and Borders have highest number of drones
-Last week, posted drone release rules…(not all written)
-Test sites have privacy policy that must be public
-Annual review of test sites
-Updates when necessary
-All drones in use at test site
-Problem: there are 6 test sites in total so will have to go to each instead of one head
-There is no law or regulation saying that drones in the US must be unarmed
Joe Nevins – Vassar College
– book is Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond: The War on Illegals
-US spends $18 billion in border security and enforcement
-40,000 border agents in the Senate’s version of the comprehensive immigration reform 2013
-VADER: Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radars (at borders)
-There are currently 10 drones total on both Mexico-US, Canada-US borders
-6,000-7,000 bodies have been found at Mexico-US border
-Functions like modern apartheid – militarization and drones at the border separate between privileged and the poor
Daniel Hale – former US soldier
-Former intel analysist
-“I made an oath to protect the Constitution…when I deployed to Iraq, I realized that we were not there defending it nor did we have a real relationship with it”
-Stark contrast between living in Iraq/being in military and living in New York (military life vs. civilian life)
-Military extremely conservative
-“We as individuals have a lot of power in dialogue”
Fahima Vorgetts – Afghan Women’s Fund
-Soldiers are leaving Afghanistan but we are beginning strategic relationships with military business = “The war is not over, the war is changing”
-Mainstream media shows drones in positive light (killing AQ) but does not cover immoral side of story
-“Did we think about the blood on the other side?”
-Bush: 52 drones, Obama: over 400
-We are creating more enemies, more Taliban (growing anti-North American sentiments)
Colonel Morris Davis – former US Air Force officer/
chief prosecutor of Gitmo military commissioners
-Utilized surveillance equipment on drones and took orders via chat
-Tillman was used as a poster boy for the war and recruitment until truth about his death was revealed (friendly fire)
-Of age males = guilty by association
“I prefer to see my actions as civil resistance rather than civil disobedience…we are there to uphold the law” – answer during Sunday workshop