Next week’s UN debate on the use of deadly drones by the United States in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries is just “a show,” says Dirk Adriaensens from Brussells Tribunal.
In Pakistan alone, where most drone strikes are carried out, more than 2,500 people have been killed by CIA drones, Adriaensens told Press TV. “Some 98 percent of those killed by drone strikes are civilians.”
US President Barack Obama has authorized hundreds of drone strikes in Pakistan in a bid to target what Washington calls suspected terrorists. But international statistics suggest that only two percent of those assassinated by US drones are militants.
Adriaensens slammed Obama for stepping up the deadly attacks during his terms, saying the number of strikes authorized by Obama is “four times the amount authorized by (former US president) George Bush.”
He said if, as the Obama administration claims, the drone strikes are based on a “legal” base why the United Nations is holding a summit to condemn the use of the fatal drones. “Why would they change their official policy?”
Adriaensens argued that when the US is not in war with a given country it is illegal to attack it through any means including drones.
He said he thinks the UN is unlikely “to seriously condemn” Washington’s drone campaign. Even if it does, “I don’t think it would be of any use,” he added.
Adriaensens’ comments come ahead of a debate on the use of remotely piloted aircraft at the UN General Assembly in New York Friday. The international body will examine drone strikes carried out in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan and Gaza.
ARA/ARA
Source: Press TV