Ayoon wa Azan (Perhaps This Nation Does Not Deserve Life)

A piece of news has been circulating for years, without reaching yet the Arab media, or maybe that it is hardly interested with it, while some western newspapers, as well as peace and Human Rights organizations follow up on the issue on an almost daily basis. The news concerns the civilian victims that are being killed by drones in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries. Drones are a weapon that was used by George W. Bush in his failed war against terrorism. They then became the favorite weapon of the Obama Administration. A pilot sitting behind a screen in a military base in the USA would send a drone to kill a potential, but not definite, enemy of the United States in Pakistan. The enemy may or may not be hit. However, civilians, including children, are often killed along the way. Jennifer Gibson went to North Waziristan and conducted a study entitled “Living under Drones, Living in Terror” for Stanford University and New York University. The study indicated that these drones fly incessantly over the villages and that they are heard by the people who fear leaving their homes or sending their children to school, because they do not know when the next strike will be. The New York Times released the story of the death of three Pakistani children in a drone raid. The names of the children and the details about their death as told by the people in their village were also released. In the Time Magazine, Joe Klein, who is apparently a Likud supporter, defended the killing of the children and said that the question is: whose child is this four year old dead victim? In other words, if the Pakistani child is not killed, then an American one will be, because America’s enemies want to deal blows to it. I also read, on American Likud-affiliated websites, stories pertaining to the same issue and justifying Israel’s children killings in Gaza. Jodi Rudoren, New York Times’ new correspondent in Israel wrote on her Facebook page her observation on the fact that the Palestinians do not grieve for their dead the way the Israelis do. The former seem to be passive and she even noticed that there were no signs of grief in the funeral of the Dalou family that lost ten of its' members, half of which were children, after they were killed by the Israelis. After that, the newspaper decided to monitor its correspondent’s publications on the internet. The Military Times justified the killing of the children, alleging that they were sometimes used by the Taliban. The Washington Post reflected the upper-hand of the Likud supporters in its editing body since it carried lists of the dead targets. However, it failed to publish the numbers of the civilian victims, which stirred a great deal of chaos and criticism. The figures that I was able to collect differ greatly from one source to another. There is a figure indicating that 3,000 victims were killed in drones’ attacks, only two percent of which were potential targeted enemies. There were also reportedly 452 to 885 civilian victims in Pakistan, including 176 children; and 60 to 162 killed civilians in Yemen, also including many children. Killings based on a mere suspicion represent an awful, unlawful and unconstitutional crime, because America did not declare war against the targeted people and there are no clues to the allegations that these people planned to carry on any actions against the United States. The fifth constitutional amendment prohibits the killing or the deprivation of freedom or property without reverting to the law. The drones’ victims are killed without trials, charges or any means of defense. This is a major violation of the international and American laws. There is only a “hit list” established by the president who then clears the attacks against the suspected parties. The Obama Administration said that this - completely illegal - action against potential enemies will proceed throughout this decade. What are the Muslim states doing to prevent the killing of their children? They are doing nothing; nothing at all. Indeed, these states are busy with other more important things, while the western peace organizations are the only ones to defend the children there. So, perhaps this nation does not deserve life. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.