Former Drone Pilots to Obama: Civilian Killings Driving 'Terrorism,
Instability'
Published on
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Former Drone Pilots to Obama: Civilian Killings Driving 'Terrorism,
Instability'
Air Force whistleblowers say US drone program "is one of the most
devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the
world."
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Graffiti denouncing strikes by US drones in Yemen. (Photo: Khaled
Abdullah/Reuters)
Four former U.S. Air Force drone operators issued a public letter on
Wednesday warning that the United States' ongoing targeted killing program
"is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and
destabilization around the world."
The letter (pdf), addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama, Defense
Secretary Ashton Carter, and CIA Chief John Brennan accuses the
administration of fueling "tragedies such as the attacks in Paris" while
"lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program."
"We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only
fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS,"
the whistleblowers wrote, "while also serving as a fundamental recruitment
tool similar to Guantanamo Bay."
According to Guardian reporters Ed Pilkington and Ewan MacAskill, who broke
the story, the servicemen have "more than 20 years of experience between
them operating military drones." In the letter, the men say they all
"succumbed to PTSD" and were subsequently "cut loose by the same government
we gave so much tosent out in the world without adequate medical care,
reliable public health services, or necessary benefits."
Facing possible persecution for speaking out, the men are being represented
by attorney Jesselyn Radack, director of national security and human rights
at the nonprofit ExposeFacts. Radack says this letter marks the "first time
weve had so many people speaking out together about the drone program."
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear President Obama, Secretary Carter and Director Brennan:
We are former Air Force service members. We joined the Air Force to protect
American lives and to protect our Constitution. We came to the realization
that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of
hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a
fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration
and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most
devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the
world.
When the guilt of our roles in facilitating this systematic loss of innocent
life became too much, all of us succumbed to PTSD. We were cut loose by the
same government we gave so much to ¬¬ sent out in the world without
adequate medical care, reliable public health services, or necessary
benefits. Some of us are now homeless. Others of us barely make it.
We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our countrys
leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We
cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris,
knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home.
Such silence would violate the very oaths we took to support and defend the
Constitution.
We request that you consider our perspective, though perhaps that request is
in vain given the unprecedented prosecution of truth¬tellers who came
before us like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden. For the
sake of this country, we hope it is otherwise.
Sincerely,
Brandon Bryant
Staff Sergeant
MQ¬1B Predator Sensor Operator
SERE Instructor Trainee
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Disabled Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Founder of Project RED HAND
Cian Westmoreland
Senior Airman
RF Transmissions Systems
USAF CENTCOM
73rd Expeditionary Air Control Squadron
Disabled Afghanistan Veteran
Project RED HAND's Sustainable Technology Director
Stephen Lewis
Senior Airman
MQ¬1B Predator Sensor Operator
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Michael Haas
Senior Airman
MQ¬1B Predator Sensor Operator Instructor
USAF Air Combat Command
15th Reconnaissance Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
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Former Drone Pilots to Obama: Civilian Killings Driving 'Terrorism,
Instability'
Published on
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Former Drone Pilots to Obama: Civilian Killings Driving 'Terrorism,
Instability'
Air Force whistleblowers say US drone program "is one of the most
devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the
world."
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
11 Comments
Graffiti denouncing strikes by US drones in Yemen. (Photo: Khaled
Abdullah/Reuters)
Four former U.S. Air Force drone operators issued a public letter on
Wednesday warning that the United States' ongoing targeted killing program
"is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and
destabilization around the world."
The letter (pdf), addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama, Defense
Secretary Ashton Carter, and CIA Chief John Brennan accuses the
administration of fueling "tragedies such as the attacks in Paris" while
"lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program."
"We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were
killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups
like ISIS," the whistleblowers wrote, "while also serving as a fundamental
recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay."
According to Guardian reporters Ed Pilkington and Ewan MacAskill,
who broke the story, the servicemen have "more than 20 years of experience
between them operating military drones." In the letter, the men say they all
"succumbed to PTSD" and were subsequently "cut loose by the same government
we gave so much tosent out in the world without adequate medical care,
reliable public health services, or necessary benefits."
Facing possible persecution for speaking out, the men are being
represented by attorney Jesselyn Radack, director of national security and
human rights at the nonprofit ExposeFacts. Radack says this letter marks the
"first time weve had so many people speaking out together about the drone
program."
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear President Obama, Secretary Carter and Director Brennan:
We are former Air Force service members. We joined the Air Force to protect
American lives and to protect our Constitution. We came to the realization
that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of
hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a
fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration
and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most
devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the
world.
When the guilt of our roles in facilitating this systematic loss of innocent
life became too much, all of us succumbed to PTSD. We were cut loose by the
same government we gave so much to sent out in the world without adequate
medical care, reliable public health services, or necessary benefits. Some
of us are now homeless. Others of us barely make it.
We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our countrys
leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We
cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris,
knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home.
Such silence would violate the very oaths we took to support and defend the
Constitution.
We request that you consider our perspective, though perhaps that request is
in vain given the unprecedented prosecution of truthtellers who came before
us like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden. For the sake of
this country, we hope it is otherwise.
Sincerely,
Brandon Bryant
Staff Sergeant
MQ1B Predator Sensor Operator
SERE Instructor Trainee
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Disabled Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Founder of Project RED HAND
Cian Westmoreland
Senior Airman
RF Transmissions Systems
USAF CENTCOM
73rd Expeditionary Air Control Squadron
Disabled Afghanistan Veteran
Project RED HAND's Sustainable Technology Director
Stephen Lewis
Senior Airman
MQ1B Predator Sensor Operator
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Michael Haas
Senior Airman
MQ1B Predator Sensor Operator Instructor
USAF Air Combat Command
15th Reconnaissance Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
