Key Catholic Christian leader questions US drone warfare, says indiscriminate

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This is a key Catholic US ledaer speaking out against killings of civilians/children by Obama drone strikes, why are the key Baptist, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim leaders in the US silent on this ? No word on drones from Billy Graham Jr, Rev Jesse Jackson or Obama pastor of 20 years Rev Wright either.

Although after Boston Marathon bombing, Obama had drastically scaled down drone killings in Afghan border areas but they have not been fully halted.

Key bishop questions US drone warfare, says indiscriminate

Joshua J. McElwee (http://ncronline.org/authors/joshua-j-mcelwee) | Jun. 13, 2013 NCR Today (http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today)

A key U.S. Catholic bishop has questioned the United States' continued use of unmanned drones, saying the U.S. may be killing people indiscriminately in Pakistan in violation of Catholic teaching.
Des Moines, Iowa, Bishop Richard Pates, who heads the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, made the remarks Tuesday in a column for the Des Moines Register.
"With a quick missile strike from a drone here and there, we imagine our country made safer," writes Pates (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130612/OPINION01/306120042/Iowa-View-Drones-aren-t-the-murky-moral-subject-we-pretend?Opinion&gcheck=1) in the column. "But the reality is that this policy perpetuates violence, radicalizing people who otherwise wouldn’t be hostile toward the United States."
Mentioning a study by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that found that drone strikes killed as many as 3,337 people in Pakistan from June 2004 to September 2012, Pates asks: "Are civilian casualties on this scale proportional or discriminate? Would we tolerate such drone casualties in our own nation?"
"Of the people killed by U.S. drones in Pakistan (we have also used them in Yemen and Somalia), as many as 883 were civilians, including 176 children," he continues.


http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/key-bishop-questions-us-drone-warfare-says-indiscriminate

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Rev Al Sharpton I assume is a religious leader also, not a word from him also about civil rights violated of hundreds of Afghan children killed under Obama command of freedom war.


On Thursday, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement saying that at least 414 Afghan children were killed or wounded in the first four months of 2013 -- an increase of 27 percent compared to the same period in 2012.

[Zippyjuan]

Rev Al Sharpton I assume is a religious leader also, not a word from him also about civil rights violated of hundreds of Afghan children killed under Obama command of freedom war.



On Thursday, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement saying that at least 414 Afghan children were killed or wounded in the first four months of 2013 -- an increase of 27 percent compared to the same period in 2012.
More info:

UNICEF said that figures show 56% of child casualties were caused by insurgents and 14% caused by international and Afghan security forces. Another 30% showed no clear blame.
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-afghanistan-children-casualties-20130613,0,580430.story


Roadside bombs and suicide attacks accounted for the largest number of casualties, 37%. The U.N. particularly criticized the Taliban's use of indiscriminate weapons triggered by victims stepping on or driving over a pressure plate, calling it a possible war crime.

Violence is increasing in Afghanistan as the Taliban and other militants press an intense offensive against government targets before international troops hand over full security responsibilities to Afghans. The international coalition is set to end its combat mission by the end of 2014.

The escalating attacks have caused civilian casualties to soar, including among children.

Last week alone, a suicide attack near a school in the eastern province of Paktia killed nine children and wounded seven others, and a father and three children died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

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More info:

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-afghanistan-children-casualties-20130613,0,580430.story


That doesn't change anything factually about what is stated above, all these children and civilians ( and many more in the past) have been killed under Obama's (and other NATO parties ) command of the war and occupation of Afghanistan. Obama's (and other NATO parties) dismal failure to protect civilian population under their occupation could be a war crime in itself as they are legally responsible for their protection.
If Obama can find find money for expensive golf games and vacation/food tasters for himself and his daughters, why can't he invest enough money to protect Afghan children. These could be questions for ICC war crimes trials or Congressional impeachment provided his neocom pup masters did not succeed in sheltering him from war crimes trials by buying him few more nobel peace prizes.


But my question remains unanswered, where is Rev Al Sharpton?

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Brit Humes summarizes Obama’s drone speech: ‘Stop me before I kill again’

Hume noted on Fox News Sunday that Obama had “made generous use of” drone strikes.
“There’s an odd quality to this whole thing, and it is almost like he’s saying, with regard to the drone policy, ‘We need something to stop me before I kill again,’” he explained. “We can see that in his support on an unrelated matter on the shield law for journalists. He’s carried out these oversteps in pursuing journalists who are doing their job, and now he says ‘we need a shield law,’ as if to say we need a law to protect them from us.”



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/26/fox-news-analyst-summarizes-obamas-drone-speech-stop-me-before-i-kill-again/

While key Baptist, Mormon, Muslim, Jewish leaders in US have been silent, incrediuble Code Pink has been one of the very few groups that had the moral courage to confront Obama sometimes even when his puppet masters were watching.

Poway firm targeted for anti-drone protest By Emily Sorensen
The sidewalks were filled with signs, banners and even a model drone, as the San Diego Veterans for Peace came out to hold an anti-drone protest outside of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
http://www.pomeradonews.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/10/files/2013/04/drones-300x216.jpg (http://www.pomeradonews.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/10/files/2013/04/drones.jpg)Anti-drone protesters carry a banner as they march past General Atomics. Photo by Emily Sorensen



The peaceful protest, organized by San Diego Veterans for Peace, had over 70 people marching, waving signs and calling for General Atomics to stop making drones, used as both weapons and surveillance. The local veterans protest group was joined by other like-minded individuals, including Medea Benjamin, a member of Code Pink, a women’s grassroots social justice group that hails out of Washington, D.C.

http://www.pomeradonews.com/2013/04/04/poway-firm-targeted-for-anti-drone-protest/