As we know, the use of drone strikes by the US government against overseas enemies has been an ongoing issue within our own borders. We’ve heard politicians and citizens argue over whether or not the process of using the machines is ethical, and if it’s legal or not. We saw debates, a filibuster, and constant articles on the issue. However, what we have seen little of is what is happening to those who are closest to the drone strikes. Domestic news sources for the United States rarely mentioned what drones are doing to civilians of the nations we are bombing. On the other hand, when I took a look at international sources, with a focus on Middle Eastern publications, I found them to be writing much more about the plight of those caught between the US and their enemies.
United Press International (UPI) is an international news publication that is based in the US but serves countries all over the world. In an article about the drone strikes and how they’re affecting relations between the United States and civilians of the attack areas, the publication explains how a once pro-American neighborhood turned against the country because of the drone strikes that happened within their community. They felt as though they were being threatened, and they felt unsafe within their homes, causing opposition to the US for making them feel this way. This firsthand information of foreign civilians’ feelings against the US is something we do not normally receive from our domestic news sources.
This is most likely because they do not want to tarnish the US’s image, or harm national security by releasing the information. This is brought up in another one of my sources, Al Jazeera. One article goes in depth about how publications in the US, specifically the NY Times and Washington Post, waited to break the story about a secret base, which the US used to carry out its unmanned drone warfare, for a long time before publishing it because of national security risks. Al Jazeera criticizes the US newspapers for being irresponsible with information that could have helped those affected by the strikes sooner. They felt as though the publications have the duty to inform over what the government tells them to do.
The Pakistani publication Dawn has been highly critical of the Obama administration and their use of drone strikes. They have run numerous articles detailing their criticism. Of their issues with the strikes, the senseless murder of countless civilians caused by the drones is their number one priority in stopping. As I’ve previously mentioned, they ran an article criticizing President Obama for crying for the Sandy Hook children, but ignoring schoolchildren that were killed during a drone strike in Pakistan. This is the kind of reporting we will only see if we turn to international sources. It is good to see our issues from another perspective, and how our government and its policies directly affect civilians in other countries.
Paul,
I like the fact that you underscore how little attention is being focused on those innocent civilians being attacked by America’s drone strikes. I do feel that the U.S., obviously, does not want to admit and take responsibility for the crimes they have deliberately caused on other nations and therefore, they do not want their domestic news sources reporting about the drone strikes effects on innocent civilians. I understand that Middle Eastern publications feel its important to publish news on how the drone strikes are affecting communities all over in the Middle East.
There is major bias on the part of the U.S., because they only discuss and write about the strikes as the way in which they are protecting the national security of the U.S. And many of the American public is buying that and actually believing that the drone strikes are protecting the nation, but, unfortunately, the government, is not openly revealing, that these strikes are causing more destruction than good.
I appreciate your mentioning of the article that the Pakistani publication, Dawn, published about President Obama crying over the massacre of Sandy Hook children and ignoring the fact that innocent children in Pakistan were murdered by his government actions. That was a very bold article and I am happy that you included it for all to see the bias and unfairness of the American government.