Examining legitimacy of America’s most controversial predator operation (drone strikes or signature strikes)
The BraveNew Foundation, through this video examines the legitimacy of America’s most controversial predator operation, popularly known as drone strikes or signature strikes within the tribal areas along AfPak border. It narrates how an operation launched apparently to curb combatants, has been tarnishing the humanity as “majority killed in these strikes, more than 98% are not high value targets” rather innocent human between the age of 14 to 60 years as described by Phillip Alston, UN former Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial Execution who states, “Any male of a certain age roughly between fourteen and sixty who is killed automatically counted as a combatant"
The video is furnished with the opinions by a range of experts including the victims, specifically of a strike carried out in Detta khel on March 17, 2011 that yielded the elimination of “around 40 tribal elders gathered to resolve a local problem in the broad day light.”
James Cavallaro, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and Co-author of a book titled ‘Living Under Drones’ on this particular strike comments, “The loss of 40 tribal leaders in a single day is devastating for that community.”
Different aspects, including the legitimacy, moral status and strategic profit of signature strikes are also discussed in the package besides the level of perfection in the US policy to carry on strikes in Pakistan. The potential gain as is being assumed and propagated to the people/taxpayers of American economy is also well addressed since the perpetrators with the support of some assets in the media build certain notions of success being achieved through this.
Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Former Chief of Staff Secretary of State Collin Powel records, “Drone strikes, and they are the wrong metric. Tell me how we are wining when every time we are killing one and counting ten. That’s not a metric that will tell you that if you are actually winning.”
The anonymous US intelligence officials, through the leading media outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal about Datta Khel devastation in March 2011 claim respectively as, “These were not people gathering for a bake sale… these were terrorists..”, “there’s every indication that this was a group of terrorists, not a charity car wash in the Pakistani hinterlands…”, “these guys were terrorists, not the local men’s glee club…”
Narration by the victims and their families is also included while Peshawar High Court’s judgment declaring signature strikes as “violation of sovereignty of the state of Pakistan..” and “…. A blatant violation of human rights” on the plea of particularly Datta Khel incident are also included in the package.
Examining legitimacy of America
p.s.
justice for tribesmen 
