IT is still not clear whether a convoy of hundreds of vehicles carrying over 1,000 people, including 32 American activists, who are participating in Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf's (PTI) “peace march” will be allowed to reach its destination, the former Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, still a no-go zone for non-residents. What is clear is the rally has succeeded in drawing the world's attention to the disastrous consequences for the people of South Waziristan of America's drone war. This is a war that has forced the entire population of Waziristan (roughly 800,000) to live in the shadow of death. Suddenly, and without warning, US can launch a missile — killing everyone and destroying everything within a 16-yard radius. Death in the form of drones is a constant presence in the skies above the North Waziristan tribal areas. They can be seen circling over one location at any given time, often for 24 hours a day. At any one time the frightened people can detect as many as six hovering over their villages. People hear them day and night. Parents remain restless until their children return from school. Women don't want to go to markets. While “personality” strikes target specific individuals the US considers terrorists or militants, there are also “signature strikes” aimed at anonymous individuals on the basis of a “pattern of behavior” with nobody knowing what “pattern of behavior” will invite the US administration's wrath. Death and physical injury is only part of the story. US drone strike policies cause immeasurable harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians. A major study released by Stanford University and New York University last week gives you an idea of the horror play that is going in the tribal areas of Pakistan as part of America's never-ending war on terror. It reveals how drones are terrorizing an entire civilian population and killing people indiscriminately. The study highlights the fact that the drone campaign launched by President George W. Bush has “dramatically escalated” under his successor, Barack Obama, a Nobel Peace laureate. In less than four years, Obama “has reportedly carried out more than five times” the number ordered by Bush in his two terms. This is not all. Matching the increase in the number is the indiscriminate nature of the strikes. Even funerals of drone victims have been targeted under Obama. According to figures compiled by the New America Foundation, drone attacks aimed at suspected militants are estimated to have killed between 1,900 and 3,200 people in Pakistan over the past eight years. The White House says the US only targets terrorists. A Dec. 17, 2009 strike in Yemen killed Saleh Mohammed Al-Anbouri, a militant linked to Al-Qaeda. The attack also killed 41 civilians, 22 of them children. In one well-publicized incident, a misunderstanding had led to the deaths of several Pakistani military officials. All this show how demonstrably false are US claims that their attacks are “surgically precise.” Because of the complicity of US media, the general public is largely unaware of how a program without a shred of transparency, oversight, or due process is helping swell the ranks of America's enemies in the region. Let us hope the anti-drone march will help open the area to public scrutiny by taking media there to gather independent information.
