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Friday, August 19, 2011
US lawmaker terms killings in drone strikes as ‘extra-judicial’* Dennis J Kucinich says challenging the legality of drone strikes in Pakistan is vital
ISLAMABAD: US Congressman Dennis J Kucinich has strongly criticised drone strikes by the United States against militants in Pakistan and elsewhere, terming these as “summary executions” and “extra-judicial killings”.
Kucinich, the Representative from Ohio’s 10th District, who is known for voicing his concerns over America’s war policies, says challenging the legality of drone strikes in Pakistan and bringing to light their “indiscriminate nature” is vital. In his article titled ‘Drones Direct Hit Upon Rule of Law’ published in the US daily Huffington Post, the congressman said the dangerous precedent could allow international law and the laws of war to be stretched to justify strikes elsewhere. “The legal justification for their [drones] use in Pakistan can and will be used to justify their use in other countries,” he said, and added that under such legal framework, the battlefield could be stretched to anywhere in the world. Kucinich mentioned a recent report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that estimates that at least 2,292 people have been killed by US drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, including 350 civilians.
He quoted a July 2009 Brookings Institution report stating that 10 civilians die for every one suspected militant from US drone strikes. He cited another study by the New American Foundation concluding that out of 114 drone attacks in Pakistan, at least 32 percent of those killed by the strikes were civilians.
Kucinich said drone attacks undermined the United States’ moral standing in the world as they fomented anger and resentment against the country.
“We have spent years in Afghanistan and Iraq under the guise of nurturing democracy and the rule of law, while at the same time, our use of unmanned drones severely undermines the rule of law,” he said.
He said President Obama had greatly expanded the use of drones over the past several years, authorising more drone strikes during his first 15 months in office than President Bush did during his entire eight years in office. He regretted that America which once stood for the rule of law, the constitution and Bill of Rights risked causing unprecedented collateral damage. “As it’s fearful leaders continue to kill suspects and innocent alike, mindlessly unaware that the hellfire we are sowing will surely be reaped by Americans in the future,” he concluded. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk