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Subscribe to RSSA group of 32 American anti-drone activists will join a march to Pakistan's tribal areas, where U.S. strikes have killed thousands of people over the last eight years. NBC News Amna Nawaz spoke to some of them.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Dozens of anti-drone activists have traveled to Pakistan to join a march to the country's tribal areas, where more than 300 strikes have killed thousands of people in the last eight years.
The 32 members of Code Pink have ignored a State Department travel warning to take part in Pakistani presidential candidate Imran Khan's "peace rally" to the remote area bordering Afghanistan, where the vast majority of the nearly 350 US drone strikes in Pakistan have occurred.
"People are taking great risks to come here," said Medea Banjamin, co-director of Code Pink. "It shows the depth of conviction that we have to say that 'I don't want my government killing innocent people in my name and I'm going to put my body on the line to try to stop it.' "
In Pakistan's largest city, 'Old Glory' is flammable and profitable
Khan, a former cricket star, is leading a convoy of thousands — including political supporters, local community members and journalists — into the troubled, restricted region to highlight the impact of drone strikes in Pakistan.
The rally will be the first of its kind to the tribal areas.
U.S. officials call the drone strikes an essential element of their attacks on al-Qaida militants and their affiliates in countries such as Pakistan, even as those strikes ignite local anger and fray diplomatic relations.
For many Pakistanis, 'USA' means 'drones'
In August, the Pakstani Taliban threatened to kill Khan if he held the march. "If he comes, our suicide bombers will target him," Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan told The Associated Press.
Khan, who is the founder of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party, has gained momentum over the last year after more than a decade in politics. He is perhaps the most famous person in Pakistan because he led the country's cricket team to victory in the 1992 World Cup.
More Pakistan coverage from NBC News
Despite the danger, the Code Pink members said it was important to show solidarity with the Pakistani people.
"A lot of anti-Americanism is actually created due to the drone war," activist Chelsea Faria told NBC News. "It's making us a lot less safe."
San Francisco-based Dianne Budd said people were being forced to spend "24/7 under the threat at any moment of death by drones." She added: "It's almost trivial what we're doing, compared to how they're living."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Arshad Arbab / EPA
Images of daily life, political pursuits, religious rites and deadly violence.
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Leave a Comment:
We cannot get caught up in bargaining for these idiots if they get kidnapped.
Fools!!
I'm guessing these people are as smart as the innocent non-terrorist un-talibanie people who still live in the mist of terrorist and the taliban. Meaning if your not one of them why have you not gotten the he// out of the area before you are a drone target?
Given a choice of either drones or an all out war with pakistan when our troops enter their country to do what the drones do. I'll take the drones and hope the truely innocent have been smart enough to leave than to stay and live under terrorist taliban rule and drone attacks.
leave the country and do not allow them to come back if they like the pakis that much let them live in that third world crap hole they do not deserve to be call ed americans after 9/11 they should be tried as traitors
You are obviously a loser/xenophobe. Typical American paranoia! I'm so glad I can think for myself, it's a great feeling not to be brainwashed.
An action planned needs to have an anticipated result that can be met with some degree of probability. It is not about whether we think they are brave or stupid, but how it may change the course of things in the future. If all they end up getting is blown up with no measure of gratitude or goodwill given to them by the people they are there to ultimately support, it will be a waste of their lives for nothing.
wow
what a bunch of dumd people on this site writting about i dont care holy crap. if you read the news you know these drone strikes are one of the united states biggest loosers, we are loosing any support in the east because we dont care, apperantly we are there just to kill anything moving which is terrible and thats what the drones are doing, hell we even killed our own men with these drones
1.) children died constantly in these attacks (1) childs death is 1 to much would you like it if we got bombed by our government because they though you were terrorists? nooooooooooooooooo, what happened to innocent until proven guilty and dont tell me where we are in the east has no laws which is bs because that sentence should fit all humans not pick and choose
2.) innocent people are being snuffed out with america casting their vote to just die i dont care sadsadsad
3.) killing the tali and alquida is good. to bad they use propaganda of these missle attacks to recruit dumb kids to fight in the name of allah cause the kids know of innocent peeps that were killed and i dont see that helping our cause what ever that cause is i still havent figured that one out yet
4.) would it not be better just to leave and let the middle east idiots kill their own people like they have for 2000 years , not to sure who in the usa said lets go stop their killing so we can have our boys and girls killed you know our soldiers of forgot that one eh?
5.) who does one blame when you wipe off the face of the earth women and children, that would be me because im to big o pussy to tell our government they are idiots using the guided missles?
noooooooooooooooot our gov are idiots and dont care, if they did we wouldnt be in the middle east killing peeps that have nothing to do with us, how about if there are rough countries let them take care of their problems and if they cant bummer dont allow them in our country by elliminating any planes coming from rough countries or make them sign peace agreements between their rivals and then we will help anyone who holds their agreements as a true belief not to kill each other
I agree we shouldn't use drones, to costly, carpet bombings cheaper and have greater effect. I have not heart burn in saying this 1000 of them for one of ours.
I commend the Code Pink participants risking their lives for peace and solidarity. Speaking out for peace and actually DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT is much more noble than fighting a war that destroys lives. I support efforts of those who travel to a dangerous place in the name of peace much more than I would ever support the efforts of those who travel to a dangerous place to fight the wars. Truly heroic and inspiring. I hope Code Pink and the Pakistanis participating in the peace rally return home safe. They are doing the right thing. They are very brave.
and you my dear are just as big a fool as they are.
No they are Stupid, If they do survive and get home then they should be go on trail as traitors and hung, war is not pretty, but a necessary Evil and it pays well.
Revoke their passports and make them stay there.
You mirror the same comment I made earlier!
we should be protesting here. they've already started flying them over our airspace.
we let them dip their toes in the water and they will push it as far as they can go.
Americans do nothing. it's sad, really.
what FOOLS how dumb, they will look good with there heads cut off.
The video shows a wonderful example of limousine liberals in action. They protest American drone attacks while attending a catered luncheon served by Pakistani waiters in a luxury hotel. Perhaps they'll travel to the protest site in an air-conditioned bus with an armed escort.
They say they don't want Americans hated there, but rather loved. Those terms are irrelevant. Better to be feared and respected, as our flag used to be, than loved and spat upon.
Those ignorant fruitcakes! Just look at the picture and you can tell what a nut job that one is. Americans have no business over in any country that hates us as much as they do.
Nothing those fruitcakes do will change how they feel about Americans. They will smile in their faces while they hold a knife behind their backs.
Just plain nut jobs.
Anybody dumb enough to go into a war zone unarmed, to protest there own government, is about as stupid as one can ever be! I hope these fools get put in there place by the locals, and wouldn't it be a damn shame if they got caught up in a drone strike!
I don't agree with them, but if they want to protest, wouldn't protesting here in the US be as effective?
It wouldn't be front-page news.
But their beheading surely will. Hehe
The idealistic part of my brain thinks that these people have every right to be there, but then my intellectual side thinks they are complete morons. What will happen if they get kidnapped? That's right! We will have to go and get them, putting young soldier's lives at risk. The middle east has hated us way before drones and they will hate us way after. Do they not remember 9-11-01?? I would rather have drone killings over boots on the ground. I may not agree with a lot of what Obama has done since taking office, but in this particular case I am 100% behind him.
I hope some of them have been equipped with homing devices so we can get a proper azmuth.
they'd be the 1st one's to beg the USA to come save their azz, screw'em. let the packistain's and tlaban hav their way with'em - MORONS !
Dumb just plain dumb, they will do more harm than good, they will probably be arrested or kidnapped and we will have to spend our tax dollars to bail them out. If we are lucky they will be killed outright and we won't have to bother with them and Darwin's prinicple will be proven again.
Why does everyone think they will be kidnapped? People over there know the US will not negotiate for the release, and to capture them only invites a visit by a seal team, so they will me martyred along with the ones making best friends with them wearing bomb vests.
Despite the highly irrational thinking and comments on this page this morning, I personally think that our use of drones has really run amok. Yes, they are a weapon that at least in theory has saved many lives on the ground. But now they are way over-used. The technology is sadly lacking - they need to be able to hone in on much smaller targets to minimize the number of innocent deaths, aka "collateral damage". As far as going to Pakistan to protest their use, I believe the protesters could have gotten a lot more mileage for their cause by doing so here, perhaps at the WH and the pentagon? They certainly would have a lot more personal safety guaranteed, not to mention press coverage and saving time and money. Apparently they believe they will be a lot more effective over there. I wish them safety and good luck and I hope they are not harmed. Americans are foolish if they believe that just because they are American, they won't be attacked on foreign soil, especially soil that hostile to us.
Well there you go. Another problem in the world solved, just like that!
I give it three weeks until we see a few of them on video....hands tied behind their back with masked AlQueda fighters on either side sporting AK's....Islamic flag in the background....and the activist pleading for our Gov to release all Taliban/Al Queda prisioners or they will be executed. Hope the state dept made it clear to them, BEFORE they left, that we DONT NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS!!!
Drones are very useful and save US Troops lives, until they are shooting @ the US Troops. Even when the people on the ground were indicating the drone was targeting the wrong area and the over-sear of the operation was questioning the target. Result TWO US Troops killed and NO ONE held accountable... see http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-04-12/drone-kills-us-troops-officials/2620400
The CIA & Obama who Esclated their use, should be held ACCOUNTABLE, when they KILL the wrong people...
Just like the US Military is held accountable...
IMO & many others have stated that the use of these drones is making more terrorest than they are killing...
The Obama administration has said that drone strikes have killed few, if any, civilians...
Estimated Total Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004 to 2012 - between 1886 & 3191 with 85% reported to be militants... see http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/drones
Estimates by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which has reported extensively on drone strikes, of 474 to 884 civilian deaths since 2004, including 176 children... see http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/24/world/la-fg-drone-study-20120925
Here are a bunch of morons who risk getting killed or thrown in prison and then want the US to rescue them. Like the 'hikers' before them who ended up in an Iranian prison for 3 years or the people who crossed into North Korea and got arrested. Stupid stupid stupid people. Hope they like eating rats for dinner and crapping into a bucket in the middle of the room for a toilet. These are not American prisons they are going to end up in. Of course if they ever make it back, they should spend some time in American prisons, maybe 3-5 will help them think a little better.
Listen to the video these are some of the most naive people I have ever heard. They will do more harm than good, will be used as propaganda against the US. I agree they will probably be taken hostage and then cry for the US to save them - I vote NO.
Wait. Hillary said Pakistan are our friends and allies. Is there a problem ?
Also, I agree with others, way better to fight a war with drones then to have solders in harms way. The drones are targeting very bad people. Maybe some innocents get hurt, i feel bad for them when that happens, but by and large, the bad guys are taken out. Take a look at Syria, does anyone think they care if innocents get hurt? The US at least tries to be precise. How about the suicide bombers? They intentionally target innocent people of a 'different brand of the same religion'. I believe the US is being quite controlled compared to what the locals do to their own people.
OMG!! I see another jane fonda moment coming . I say revoke thier visas and if they get taken by the taliban,Hey thats what you get for going into a den of snakes.These people are just plain foolish .Why would the words spoken by a few be considered to represent our country as a whole? An Awful arrogrant presumption.