Once again an American anti-war activist criticized the controversial US drone campaign overseas as a strategy that kill civilians and escalate anti-American sentiment in other nations.
Joe Iosbaker of the United National Antiwar Coalition told Press TV that CIA-drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries have mainly targeted civilians and that only two percent of the dead in Pakistan, for example, are militants.
Å“The movement against drone warfare has exposed that 98 percent of those that have been killed have not been the high-value targets, al-Qaeda and other so-called terrorist groups that he (President Barack Obama) claims they are,” said Iosbaker in Sundayâ„¢s interview.
He said the Obama administration claims they Å“only use drone strikes as a last resort, preferring capturing to killing, but the truth is that the number of those captured is only a fraction of those killed.”
The deadly US drone strikes in Pakistan has intensified the anti-US sentiment among Pakistanis, the activists noted.
On December 25, four people were killed in the latest round of drone attacks targeting an area near the town of Miranshah in Pakistanâ„¢s North Waziristan Province, which borders Afghanistan.
Å“Every drone attack further isolates the US in the region, and Pakistani opinion has been turned solidly against the United States,” said Iosbaker. Å“Recently a Pakistan court even ruled that the strikes are illegal and the government of Pakistan is considering bringing their case to the UN.”
The UN says the CIA-operated drone strikes pose a growing challenge to the rule of international law.
Washington claims militants are the targets of the attacks, but local officials say civilians have been the main victims of such airstrikes.
AT/ARA
With permission
Source: Press TV