Loving Drones With Senator Feinstein

Dear Senator Feinstein,

The only statement in your e-mailed letter of April 25 that I agree with is this: “Unfortunately, your view and my view differ on this subject. I have strongly supported the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for counterterrorism purposes.” While I do not dispute that you Chair the Senate Intelligence Committee or that you have devoted “significant time and attention to the use of drones,” I vehemently disagree that your committee “ensure[s] that [drones] are used with care and precision, and that every effort is taken to prevent the loss of life of noncombatants.” There is no such thing as a “surgical strike” by a Hellfire missile. The blast kills everything within a 60 foot radius; it incinerates its victims and causes horrific injuries to those in the path of flying shrapnel and debris and, in some cases, collapsing buildings. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, thousands injured. There is nothing clean or neat or precise in the use of drones; they are ugly weapons of terror that we inflict long distance on others. Imagine the sound of a drone—“like an aerial lawnmower”—circling your house or community 24/7, never knowing when a missile will strike or who will be its victim. Imagine living in constant fear, helpless to protect either yourself or your loved ones from an unseen enemy. Imagine the terror felt by your children. The use of the drones which you champion are not without implications, Senator. Perhaps you missed the testimony of Farea al-Muslimi on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights who told how a single unnecessary drone strike in his village in Yemen last week instantly turned the entire village anti-American, something militants failed to do in years of preaching jihad. This same scene has been repeated over and over and many witnesses and experts have said drones create enemies. Why is it there are more militants in Yemen, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, than ever before? And finally, Senator, this from your letter: “Please know that the Committee takes seriously its duty to ensure that our counterterrorism operations are legal, effective, and consistent with our national values.” Really? When the CIA won’t even give you the names of the countries they’re killing people in? And the White House won’t show you their secret memos justifying extrajudicial assassination of American citizens? Senator, there are none so blind as those who refuse to see. 

cc: Representative Nancy Pelosi 
      Senator Barbara Boxer 
      President Barack Obama