I got this from Amnesty International:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=519442&msource=W1304EASHR1
Dear Tracy,
Can the U.S. government ignore human rights when it sees fit?
According to the law, no.
According to some members of Congress and the Obama administration, yes.
Set the record straight -- take action now to prevent unlawful drone killings!
Proponents of the "global war" theory see the entire world as a battlefield to which human rights do not apply. Today a Senate committee is, rightly, holding a hearing on one of the most disturbing results of that theory: the U.S. government's secretive killer drone program, a program that has inflicted grave damage to the U.S. government's human rights credibility.
Human rights activists like you helped convince the Senate to hold today's hearing. But the fight has just begun.
Senator Lindsey Graham is part of a group of lawmakers that want to double down on the centerpiece of the global battlefield theory -- the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force -- and keep us in a state of vaguely defined drone "war" against armed groups forever.
Bad idea.
Tell officials to pull back, turn around, and ensure security with human rights. Sign on to Amnesty's letter urging lawmakers to reject the global battlefield theory and rein in drone killings.
The thing is, we don't need another law to guide the use of lethal force. The law governing any state's use of lethal force -- whether with a drone or a gun or most other weapons -- already exists.
Here's what the law requires:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=519442&msource=W1304EASHR1
Dear Tracy,
Can the U.S. government ignore human rights when it sees fit?
According to the law, no.
According to some members of Congress and the Obama administration, yes.
Set the record straight -- take action now to prevent unlawful drone killings!
Proponents of the "global war" theory see the entire world as a battlefield to which human rights do not apply. Today a Senate committee is, rightly, holding a hearing on one of the most disturbing results of that theory: the U.S. government's secretive killer drone program, a program that has inflicted grave damage to the U.S. government's human rights credibility.
Human rights activists like you helped convince the Senate to hold today's hearing. But the fight has just begun.
Senator Lindsey Graham is part of a group of lawmakers that want to double down on the centerpiece of the global battlefield theory -- the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force -- and keep us in a state of vaguely defined drone "war" against armed groups forever.
Bad idea.
Tell officials to pull back, turn around, and ensure security with human rights. Sign on to Amnesty's letter urging lawmakers to reject the global battlefield theory and rein in drone killings.
The thing is, we don't need another law to guide the use of lethal force. The law governing any state's use of lethal force -- whether with a drone or a gun or most other weapons -- already exists.
Here's what the law requires:
- Lethal force outside of specific recognized zones of armed conflict can only be used when it is strictly unavoidable to prevent a truly imminent threat to life.
- If there is any doubt as to whether a person is a civilian, then treat the person like a civilian anyways.
- All people have human rights and a shared right to life. In other words, no citizen -- whether from the U.S. or any other country -- is above any other.
Yes, I will speak up and tell the U.S. government to follow existing law and protect human rights.
The U.S. can't ignore human rights when it sees fit in the name of never-ending and vaguely defined "global war." There is a better way: U.S. federal courts and law enforcement systems are equipped to handle armed groups and individuals.
Help us send this message today, when lawmakers are listening.
Sincerely,
Zeke Johnson
Director, Security with Human Rights Campaign
Amnesty International USA
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