Pakistani family testifies to empty room on Hill about US Drone that killed Granny

[unhappycamper]

http://www.juancole.com/2013/10/pakistani-testifies-killed.html

Pakistani family testifies to empty room on Hill about US Drone that killed Granny
Posted on 10/30/2013 by Juan Cole

Congressman Alan Grayson held a hearing on the Hill on Tuesday on civilian deaths in US drone strikes. A Pakistani family, the Ur Rahmans, testified on the death by drone of their grandmother while she was tending her garden. Nine-year-old Nabila Ur Rahman was injured in the strike that killed he grandmother. It was a moving event, with the translator tearing up. But only 4 congressmen showed up. Presumably they were too busy taking food out of the mouths of poor children to bother.

Although the US government maintains that few civilians have been killed in drone strikes in northern Pakistan, the Pakistani government estimates that US drones have killed 400 to 600 civilian non-combatants. Sometimes the CIA has fired two drones one after another in hopes of killing first responders. While some first responders may be militants, not all are, and this tactic is a war crime.

In his recent visit to Washington, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pressed President Obama to end drone strikes on his country, saying that they violate Pakistani sovereignty. Wikileaks showed that one of his predecessors secretly authorized the strikes, but Sharif said his own government does not condone them and is determined to be transparent.

[delrem]

1. That's an indictment of both parties, D's and R's, so an indictment of the USA.

[Victor_c3]

2. We owe it to the victims to at least listen to them

I was involved in a situation where one of my Soldiers shot a kid for one reason or another. I personally was the guy who found the kid after the firefight and I personally have a lot of feelings of regret over that situation, but I feel some level of peace knowing that I was able to look the parents of the kid in the eye and tell them I was responsible. I'm sure they hated and despise me for hurting their child, but I was at least able to give them the opportunity to address me.

Startlingly, the father hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.

I would like nothing more than to go back to Iraq and visit that family again - this time without a rifle in my hands and the distance created by having a platoon of Infantrymen standing to your left and right. I think I owe it to the family to allow them to confront me with their anger on equal terms.

I don't know if the kid ended up surviving or dying.

As human beings and supposedly moral people, our leaders need to allow these families of drone strike victims to vent their grief and anger to them as well.