NOVANEWS
The CIA is lying to the American people and the world about drone attacks in Pakistan.
By Daniel G.J
A leaked document identified as a report from the Pakistani government indicates that the robotic warplanes have killed more people than the U.S. government has claimed.
The report claims that 746 people, including 94 children, have been killed in drone strikes. The report examined 75 separate drone strikes between 2006 and 2009 that occurred in the Federally Administered ‘Tribal Areas’ of Pakistan, a region along the Pakistani border used by the Taliban as a base area. And as Anthony Gucciardi recently reported, more drone deaths continue to come out with minor recognition from the media.
Real Casualty Numbers Unknown
These claims are probably too low because they don’t list all the drone strikes that have been carried out since 2009. Nor do they list drone strikes that might have occurred outside the Tribal Areas. Last year Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the press that between 2,500 and 3,000 people have been killed by drone strikes. Malik also said that there had been 336 drones in Pakistan.
Both Malik’s claims and the report contradict the CIA’s official story—in 2011 the agency claimed that 50 noncombatants had been killed in all of its drone strikes since Sept. 11, 2001. That claim seems very dubious, particularly since it is not clear that the CIA has been able to examine all of the drone attack sites.
The report itself is questionable because its source is not identified. The organization that uncovered and publicized it, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, did not identify which Pakistani government agency produced it. Although, the report indicates the Pakistani government has extensive details of the attacks. Instead, it simply says the document came from three sources—what three sources?
During the period detailed in the report, the Pakistani government was supporting the strikes because they got rid of its enemies. The drone attacks are unpopular in Pakistan, but the Pakistani army has tolerated them because they kill some of its enemies.
The Pakistani document indicated that a large number of Taliban militants and their commanders died in the attacks. That indicates the CIA has extensive knowledge of the militants and their operations, probably from agents inside the organization. It also means that the CIA itself is well aware of the true casualty figures.
Are Other Nations Carrying Out Drone Attacks in Pakistan?
There is also an intriguing mystery in the report that the Bureau uncovered. Its reporter, Chris Woods, noted that there were five attacks carried out by forces that the Pakistani government could not or would not identify. That is bothersome because it indicates that other governments, perhaps India’s or China’s, might also be carrying out drone attacks in Pakistan. Both India and China have been attacked by militants backed by the Pakistani Taliban in the past.
By carrying out such attacks, the United States sets a precedent for other nations and implies that such killings are a legitimate method of war. A government that claims that it has the right to carry out these drone attacks gives other governments that right as well.
The whole concept of drone warfare needs to be reviewed due to the true mass number of deaths and other devastating consequences that stem from it. We need to ask ourselves if we want to live in a world where drone attacks are an accepted everyday occurrence. And what about predator drone attacks inside the US? After all, they seem to violate not only the Constitution but the Ten Commandments and basic Christian morality. Especially when it comes to shedding innocent blood.
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