NOVANEWS
The US military has killed over 2,500 people with drones in Pakistan
An USAF General Atomics MQ-1 Predator drone in the Belgrade Aviation Museum. Shot down during NATO airstrikes on Serbia in 1999. (Photo : Wikimedia)
By JG Vibes | October 15, 2013 | 3:00am EST
PAKISTAN (INTELLIHUB) — Most Americans don’t realize that their government is currently killing people in dozens of different countries. The mainstream media has told everyone that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to an end, and that the US government has no other military involvements overseas.
However, in most areas of the middle east and Africa, the CIA, US military, and NATO are chasing down people with drones and killing thousands of people indiscriminately.
One activist group has recently began counting and naming those who are killed by drone strikes, since the official records are never kept. The campaign is called “naming the dead” and they are actively working to make a public record of the thousands of people killed overseas in these attacks.
According to one post made by the group:
Naming the Dead is an attempt to identify by name the people reportedly killed by CIA drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004. It is an ongoing project run by journalists from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, who have been tracking covert US strikes in the region since early 2011.
At the time of writing, the Bureau has identified more than 550 individuals by name. Many others are identified through their relationships, tribes, nationalities or by other means. We present what has been reported about the dead in two main ways: an alphabetical list, and in individual pages according to the strike in which they died.[1]
According to their records, over 2,500 people have been killed by drone strikes in the past decade in Pakistan alone.
They also make a point to put out some details about the victims, including if they were defined as a “militant” by the US government.
Whenever the mainstream media releases a story about drone attacks, they typically use the word “militant” to describe the victims. This label implies that the victims are not civilians or are somehow involved in terrorism or violent military activities.
However, this is not what they are actually saying, this is a deception.
Earlier this year the Obama Administration redefined “Militant” to mean “Military Aged Male”, so this way nearly any male who gets killed is considered a violent enemy, at least in the eyes of the general population.[2]
This new project is a much needed effort to bring attention to the vast numbers of people who are being killed by drones oversees.
View the developing list of names Here.
Sources:
[1] Naming the Dead: The methodology – The Bureau Investigates
[2] Remember: The US Establishment Defines A “Militant” As A “Military Aged Male” – Intellihub
