Forum Post: 9/09/2012 an open letter of protest about the Drone War. I forward for 1 who is not yet comfortable sending it himself.

Sent this day 9/09/2012 An Open Letter Addressed to The President of the United States of America and to all of the currently seated members of Government and to all of the citizens of the USA to the people of the world and to all governments. Please Handle and deliver/share as you would a letter delivered by the USPS.

Mr. President and all currently seated members of Government and to all the citizens of the USA, to the governments and people of the world.

1st let me state that these letters I send to you I also send out on social media to all of the citizens of the USA to read as well - and I suppose it could be considered as open letters to the world also.

Anyway today's subject: A protest letter on the Drone War, I forward it to you on behalf of another who is not yet comfortable enough to send it to you.

Dear Government,

The drone attacks are WRONG. It's unconstitutional. It creates more enemies. We have to stop it.

In recent months Pakistan has loudly protested each drone strike, calling them a ‘total contravention of international law’ which are a ‘violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty... yet you continue to bomb their country. This also technically puts our nations at war.

I think it is only a matter of time before the international discussion on this makes it crystal clear that if the drone programs are not shut down, then what we are looking at is the potential of war of all against all, a pulverization of national sovereignty and a rejection of the structure of international law. So, you know, there is the idea of war crimes becomes compelling only if nations respect the jurisdiction of a tribunal.

We have ventured into a world since 9/11 where international law is set aside and where the implements of war are becoming so ubiquitous that all the rules are being ignored and conflict zones are expanding. Where suspected terrorists – and we do not know what they are really suspected of doing, you know – they can be suspects now, and they can be executed. Or they can just be perceived to be a male of combat age and be executed.

When the Constitution was written the war-power was bifurcated in this way. Under article 1 the Congress founders wanted to restrain what they called ‘the dog of war’ by putting it into the hands of a legislator whose constituents would be affected by it, and would therefore have to face the people at some point. But what has happened is that in this post 9/11 world is that the declarations of war have basically vanished, replaced by an administration’s assertion of the power to declare a global war. And that has been buttressed, that was under the Bush administration, now under the Obama administration it is the derogation to the executive of the power to strike at any nation at any time for any reason. Expanding drone wars across Africa, across the Middle East, and I think ultimately risking blow-back.

We are at a war in Yemen now, you know. We do not need to go through an Orwellian exercise of semantics or the twisting of meaning here. We understand that we are at war in Yemen. In Yemen recently there has been a very steep escalation, not just in drone strikes but apparently covert air strikes, naval bombardments, and possibly ground forces.

You are looking here at an executive power that is unleashed. Our system of justice, according to the Constitution, is highly structured. There are broad areas of our constitution that have to do with people being investigated, arrested, charged, having a trial, and then if they are convicted being properly sentenced and incarcerated.

If someone shot a grocer and his defense was ‘it was a targeted killing’ he would be put on trial for his life. But we are told that these targeted killings are somehow to be considered apart from any legal system.

Well, when you have assassination program's that lack any attempt to establish legal justification, then you have journeyed into moral depravity. International law means nothing, laws of war mean nothing. I am not assigning that condition to any one individual, but I am saying that the program itself bespeaks an approach which depraves moral law, the constitution, and international law. That sets us into an endless cycle of violence.

There are innocent people being killed, that can not be disputed. In one of the first strikes that they publicized in the Wazaristan area, there was a little town Damadola where I think about 14 people were killed, I think in a strike in January 2006, I am just reciting this from memory. I believe they struck because one of the persons appeared to be the height of one of the individuals they were looking for. The criteria keeps changing and it keeps getting looser and looser.

Now, according to that recent story I think in the New York Times, all adult age males in Waziristan are now viewed as terrorists.

This is how I feel... but better said by Dennis Kucinich.

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People if you would like to contact the President and share your thoughts on this subject or on any other subject.

http://www.barackobama.com/contact-us/ or email info2012@barackobama.com

You can also make contact here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments