The use of Predator and Reaper drones (unmanned flying vehicles that are often armed with video-guided missiles) by the US military and CIA has caused thousands of deaths in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, many of whom are women and children. Drone strikes are illegal and immoral and Hawai`i is directly involved.

•  President Obama has drastically increased drone strikes and has expanded the use of drones for spying throughout the Middle East and North Africa. [See reports by The Bureau of Investigative Reporting; www.thebureauinvestigates.com, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251418/Revealed-U-S-carried-333-drone-strikes-Afghanistan-year--entire-drone-strikes-Pakistan-past-years-COMBINED.html; www.worldcantwait.net]

•  Drone strikes are in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. Most drone strikes take place hundreds of miles away from any battlefield where U.S. forces are engaged in combat. The UN Charter limits the use of military force—like drones—in or against another country to self-defence, and only in response to an imminent threat. [See Article 2(4) of the UN Charter at www.un.org]

•  Drone attacks are in violation of international and domestic laws guaranteeing due or lawful process. Most drone attacks are against groups or individuals the U.S. doesn’t even know and can’t individually identify

•  Initial drone strikes are frequently followed by strikes on those who come to the aid of the victims of that attack – frequently rescuers, loved ones, or neighbors (a practice the U.S. military calls a “double tap”). [See “Outrage at CIA’s Deadly “Double Tap” Drone Attacks in The Independent UK, Sept 25, 2012.]

•  Drone strikes lack any accountability whatsoever since they are conducted with the push of a button from thousands of miles away;

• Drone strikes do not make us safer. .Just the opposite. Each strike generates more anger, violence and revenge. [See NY Times, June 13, 2012, op-ed by Ibrahim Mothana]

• Hawai`i plays a crucial role in the U.S. military’s ability to carry out its illegal and immoral drone warfare. Drones are being used at the Pohakaloa Military Training area on the Big Island; both Wheeler Air Force Base and Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station are authorized drone bases. U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa is a member of the Congressional Drone Caucus, which was formed to increase the use of drones. [See www.nodronesnetwork.blogspot.com]

We must refuse to be complicit in these crimes being done in our name.  Sign the petition letter below demanding: 

1. An end to the use of drones by the U.S. military and C.I.A., whether for drone strikes or for spying;
2. An end to Hawai`i’s involvement in drone training and basing; and
3. The resignation of Rep. Colleen Hanabusa from the Congressional Drone Caucus (formally the “Unmanned Systems Caucus”).
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