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Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Drones

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    2012 In Review: A Year of Extreme Weather, Mass Shootings, Drone Wars and Dark Money in Politics

    Today we look back at 2012. In the most expensive election in U.S. history, President Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney, forcing the Republicans to reconsider their policies, among others, around women and immigrants. While the major party presidential candidates did not take on climate change in any of their debates, it was a year of extreme weather — from the melting of the Arctic to Superstorm Sandy, to the massive typhoon in the Philippines....
    Dec 31, 2012 | Story
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    Outgoing Rep. Dennis Kucinich: With 2 Parties Failing U.S., It's on Us to Build a "Culture of Peace"

    Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is serving his last week in Congress after eight terms in office. Since 1997, Kucinich has been a leading progressive voice on Capitol Hill, known for actions including the bringing of articles of impeachment against George W. Bush for the invasion and occupation of Iraq, voting against the USA PATRIOT Act, advocating for ending the war on drugs, challenging U.S. warfare from Afghanistan to Libya, and pushing...
    Dec 28, 2012 | Story
  • Killer_robots

    Killer Robots: HRW and Nobel Laureate Jody Williams Urge Ban on Modern Warfare's Next Frontier

    Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is joining with Human Rights Watch to oppose the creation of killer robots — fully autonomous weapons that could select and engage targets without human intervention. In a new report, HRW warns such weapons would undermine the safety of civilians in armed conflict, violate international humanitarian law, and blur the lines of accountability for war crimes. Fully autonomous weapons do not exist yet, but...
    Nov 20, 2012 | Story
  • Walker_poem

    "Democratic Womanism": Poet and Activist Alice Walker on Women Rising, Obama and the 2012 Election

    With less than 40 days to go before the 2012 presidential election, poet and activist Alice Walker reads her new poem, "Democratic Womanism," and discusses her thoughts on President Obama’s legacy, including his use of drone strikes. "You ask me why I smile when you tell me you intend in the coming national elections to hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils," reads Walker. "There are more than two evils...
    Sep 28, 2012 | Story
  • Button-drones

    With Control of Drone Strikes, Is Counterterror Chief John Brennan the U.S. "Assassination Czar"?

    President Obama’s counterterrorism chief John Brennan is heading up a new team to determine who should be targeted by armed U.S. drones overseas. The newly revealed procedure for drone attacks means Brennan’s staff consults the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies before ultimately deciding who will be targeted. One official said there is growing concern over "how easy it has become to kill someone" under the...
    May 24, 2012 | Story
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    Obama Touts War's End in Afghanistan, But Critics See Election-Year Guise for Prolonged Occupation

    On a surprise visit to Afghanistan, President Obama marked the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin Laden and announced the signing of a long-term strategic partnership with the Afghan government. In a speech to the U.S. public, Obama said the agreement heralds "a future in which the war ends, and a new chapter begins." We’re joined by writer Tariq Ali and former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright, who helped reopen the...
    May 02, 2012 | Story
  • Drone

    As Obama Expands Drone War, Activists & Victims' Advocates Join D.C. Summit on Growing Civilian Toll

    Pakistani lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who represents families of civilians killed in U.S. drone strikes, was finally granted a visa to enter the U.S. this week after a long effort by the State Department to block his visit. He has just arrived in Washington, D.C., to attend the "Drone Summit: Killing and Spying by Remote Control," organized by human rights groups to call attention to the lethal rise in the number of drone strikes under the...
    Apr 27, 2012 | Story
  • Sy

    Training Terrorists in Nevada: Seymour Hersh on U.S. Aid to Iranian Group Tied to Scientist Killings

    Journalist Seymour Hersh has revealed that the Bush administration secretly trained an Iranian opposition group on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorists. Hersh reports the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command trained operatives from Mujahideen-e-Khalq, or MEK, at a secret site in Nevada beginning in 2005. According to Hersh, MEK members were trained in intercepting communications, cryptography, weaponry and small unit tactics...
    Apr 10, 2012 | Story
  • Ahmedrashid_webex

    Part 2: Ahmed Rashid on U.S. Relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan, Drones, and Journalists in Danger

    We continue our discussion with veteran Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, whose new book details clandestine talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, the Obama administration’s expanded use of drones and the accompanying rise in civilian deaths, and how more "physical harm is now coming to journalists" who are detained by Pakistan’s intelligence agency. [includes rush transcript]
    Mar 28, 2012 | Web Exclusive
  • Pakistanantiusdemo

    "Pakistan on the Brink": Ahmed Rashid on Perilous Ties Between the U.S., Pakistan and Afghanistan

    Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials meet today in Islamabad for the first high-level talks since NATO air strikes killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers last November. The meeting comes one day after President Obama met with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Relations between the two countries have soured over the clandestine U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, an increase in drone attacks, the killing of two Pakistanis by CIA...
    Mar 28, 2012 | Story