by Mary Ann McGivern
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Drone strikes are immoral. They destroy the rule of law as well as kill people because no matter how confident the intelligence services are that the person targeted has done wrong, according to our Constitution and our values, that person deserves a trial.
Yes, that person may be seen as a threat to the United States. But the threat to our democratic values is far greater. Consider our history of military intervention. Over and over, weapons use only gets us into trouble. We must change our behavior. As the only superpower on this planet, we must act first.
Beyond the use of drones to execute people without trial, there is the fact that our drones have killed entire compounds of villagers by error. Even when the aim is accurate, bystanders are killed.
Akbar Ahmed, author of The Thistle and the Drone, stated in an interview on "Interfaith Voices" with Maureen Fiedler that recent Taliban bombings of Christian churches are not anti-Christian but instead identify these sites as the best way to gain publicity around the world. They are a retaliation for the drone strikes and an expression of the anger these strikes continue to provoke.
Protesters regularly drive from Kansas City, Mo., to Whiteman Air Force Base to stand against drones because many of the drone operators work there. Kathy Kelly from Voices for Creative Nonviolence has joined them frequently. Kathy has more information about drones at vcnv.org.
This killing is wrong. Drones may be a devil thrown out only by prayer and fasting.
