Assassinations US Carrying Out Via Drones Will Back To Haunt Americans: US Activists

New Delhi, June 15, IRNA – The assassinations the US is carrying out via drones will come back to haunt it when others start doing the same thing - to the Americans, said US political activist. Drones may have been used for non-lethal purposes but state-ponsored assassinations and semi-covert wars are fuelling their boom and not scientific missions or creative activities, says American political activist Medea Benjamin, pti reported. In her book ˈDrone Warfare: Killing by Remote Controlˈ, the co-founder of the peace group CODEPINK and the international human rights organisation Global Exchange delves into the new warfare system affecting the Indian subcontinent, specially Pakistan and Afghanistan. ˈDrone Warfareˈ looks at the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who ˈpilotsˈ these unmanned planes, who are the victims, and what are the legal and moral implications. It also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward. ˈIn reality,ˈ writes Benjamin, ˈthe assassinations the US is carrying out via drones will come back to haunt it when others start doing the same thing - to the Americans.ˈ Opposing the use of drones, she writes, ˈWe need a vigorous debate and activism around a technology like drones that has a profound impact on our reputation, the ethical foundations of our society, the lives of innocent people, and ultimately, our security as a nation.ˈ Though she feels not all uses of unmanned aircraft are bad, she adds ˈbut what are fuelling the drone boom are neither scientific missions nor creative activities, but state-sponsored assassinations and semi-covert warsˈ. ˈAnd unfortunately, it is those latter pursuits – not a cure for cancer, say, or replacement for fossil fuels – to which some of the best scientific minds in the world today are dedicating their time.ˈ Environmental, human rights and even protest groups are starting to use drones. Drones were used after the earthquake in Japan to observe radiation levels at the Fukushima nuclear plant. They were used in Australia to inspect the state of wildlife after a massive flood. They have great potential to help firefighters by hovering over swaths of burning forests. Benjamim, however, says that drones now under development in research centres all over the country are designed to be more lethal, have greater autonomy, stay airborne for longer periods and have a more precise, broader vision of the battlefield. ˈOne technology under development is termed the ˈswarmˈ. Like a swarm of angry bees, a bevy of unmanned aerial, ground and sea vehicles would autonomously converge on enemy troops, aircraft and ship. Then they’d jointly decide their plan of attack, engage the enemy – all without direct human intervention,ˈ says the book. Weeks after the 2002 American invasion of Afghanistan, Benjamin visited that country. There, on the ground, talking with victims of the strikes, she learned the reality behind the ˈprecision bombsˈ on which US forces were becoming increasingly reliant. With the use of drones escalating at a meteoric pace, Benjamin has written this book as a call to action: ˈIt is meant to wake a sleeping public,ˈ she writes, ˈlulled into thinking that drones are good, that targeted killings are making us safer.ˈ Benjamin says drones donˈt revolutionize surveillance, they are a ˈprogressive evolutionˈ in making spying, at home and abroad, more pervasive. ˈDrones don’t revolutionize warfare; they are, rather, a progressive evolution in making murder clean and easy. Thatˈs why the increased reliance on drones for killing and spying is not to be praised, but refuted. And challenged,ˈ she suggests. According to Benjamin, the surveillance capabilities of drones and their increasing use by domestic law enforcement agencies in the US and elsewhere threaten to eviscerate what’s left of our privacy rights. ˈThe sensors on drones are designed to monitor miles of terrain. No matter how targeted an investigation, you always risk the prying eye of the state observing your affairs,ˈ she writes./end