End the Drone War
One more reason for NATO to get out of Afghanistan and Pakistan

November 29, 2011

The attacks that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers are but the most recent and most high profile attacks in a decade-long drone war in Pakistan. Unfortunately these attacks are not an aberration, but part of a systematic use of drones that have killed thousands of people.

The Obama administration, while promising to scale back US operations in Central Asia, has overseen a huge increase in drone attacks. More than 300 attacks have occurred, or one every 4 days, under President Obama's leadership.

It is impossible to estimate the number of dead from the attacks but a series of investigations by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism show almost 3,000 dead including 175 children. The government of Pakistan says that 700 civilians were killed in 2009 alone. The Brookings Institution estimates that for each “militant” killed, 10 civilians die in drone strikes.

This most recent attack shows the complete disdain that Washington has towards the people of Pakistan. The CIA, which oversees the drone war, was given the location of the Pakistani checkpoint near the border but once again chose to fire. Either the drones are preposterously inaccurate or there is an utter contempt for the people of Pakistan.

All told, there are more than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers and civilians who have been killed since the war on terror started. The instability in the country is increasing and the potential for civil war and more bloodshed in the future.

As many predicted, the war in Afghanistan has spread to Pakistan and the prospects for peace in either country grow more distant with each new drone strike. It is time for the international community, including the government of Canada, to condemn these killings and the violations of Pakistani sovereignty and to bring all western forces home from the region.