How the US Drone War is an Ongoing Nightmare for Pakistanis

[phantom power]

The constant presence of drones in the sky brings terror to the lives of the people of Pakistan. It is “harrowing” for children, grown-ups, women, and anyone who hears the sound of a drone and thinks they will be next. And in some respects, surveillance by drones is even worse than drone strikes because Pakistanis do not ever know for certain that a drone in the sky is just overhead to spy.

A humanitarian worker explained:

Do you remember 9/11? Do you remember what it felt like right after? I was in New York on 9/11. I remember people crying in the streets. People were afraid about what might happen next. People didn’t know if there would be another attack. There was tension in the air. This is what it is like. It is a continuous tension, a feeling of continuous uneasiness. We are scared. You wake up with a start to every noise.

One person told researchers, “God knows whether they’ll strike us again or not. But they’re always surveying us, they’re always over us, and you never know when they’re going to strike and attack.” Another interviewee who lost both his legs in a drone attack said that, “[E]veryone is scared all the time. When we’re sitting together to have a meeting, we’re scared there might be a strike. When you can hear the drone circling in the sky, you think it might strike you. We’re always scared. We always have this fear in our head.”

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/09/25/drones-are-all-over-my-brain-how-the-us-drone-war-is-an-ongoing-nightmare-for-pakistanis/

[boobooday]

1. I have a graduate student from Pakistan - from the region of the drone strikes

The US makes great strides in the region, winning hearts and minds by providing aid, including things like Polio vaccines. At the same time, we undermine our own progress with continued drone strikes that kill innocent civilians.

She told me that one local said to her, "what does it matter if the US provides vaccines to prevent disease from maiming our children, when they are just as likely to lose their legs from bombs?" She had no answer. Neither do I.

[Luminous Animal]

2. Previous thread....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021410536#post2