The Pakistani government and its opposition parties have just come together in a rare show of unity to demand that the United States cease all drone attacks inside their country.
As well they should.
The United States hasn’t declared war on Pakistan.
The U.S. has no right to rain bombs down from the sky on this country that it’s not at war with.
This is against the U.N. charter, against international law, against the Constitution, and it’s doing us no favor in Pakistan, either, as it’s been enraging the entire country.
This is Obama’s war. He’s increased drone attacks by 600 percent from Bush’s pace. In Bush’s last three years in office, the U.S. launched 39 drone attacks in Pakistan. In Obama’s first three years, that number jumped to 241.
And don’t for a minute think that these attacks killed only Al Qaeda forces or the Taliban. Hundreds of civilians, hundreds of children, also have been slayed by these remote-control bombing raids.
Obama needs to get over his love of drone warfare.
The cost in innocent lives and in our diplomatic relations has gotten too high, and so has the cost in routinely violating international law and our Constitution.
If you liked this story by Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive magazine, check out his story “Ozzie Guillen and Modern McCarthyism."
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