Death by drone: an illegal act
The CIA killed six suspected terrorists with an unmanned drone in Yemen, thereby officially expanding the war on terrorism outside of Afghanistan. One of Al Qaeda’s top men was supposedly among the six. It made the headlines across the country, after Bush went around electioneering that terrorists would be hunted down one-by-one and therapy won’t work on them.
Well, Mr. President, how about trying a little law and order for a change? Maybe, utilizing the rule of law and good old fashioned international cooperation and police work, terrorists can be arrested and tried in International Criminal Court (ICC) and, if found guilty, put in jail for their crimes against humanity.
Oh yes, except that the Bush administration will not sign onto the ICC, nor does it pursue any kind of policies of international cooperation. They would rather use their high-tech weapons of mass destruction around the world – with a shoot first, ask questions later foreign policy. Such a policy still has not brought anyone to justice for the Sept. 11 attacks. It has only brought the world more death, destruction and insecurity.
Oh – did we mention the killing of the six – even if they were terrorists – is illegal? Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said, “Even terrorists must be treated according to international law. Otherwise, any country can start executing those whom they consider terrorists.”
Following the Yemen attack, the hawks announced they are targeting the Horn of Africa as part of their widening and endless war. The Pentagon is establishing a Task Force Horn of Africa, to be based in Djibouti. Troops and ships are expected to join the 800 special forces already there. The Pentagon likened the task force to a similar command running operations in Afghanistan.
While the Bush administration made gains in the elections, and will move with deadly speed for more war, this outrageous foreign policy will not be accepted forever by the American people and certainly is not now accepted by the world’s people. The best national security is to build a strong, broad peace movement to force the Bush administration to stop its catastrophic course.
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