Anti-Drone Warfare Coalition I will describe the newly formed Pittsburgh Anti-Drone-Warfare Coalition and the actions that we have taken and are planning to take to end drone warfare.

1. Ignite Pittsburgh • October 23, 2013 • Brillobox
Pete Shell
Co-coordinator, Pittsburgh Anti-Drone-Warfare Coalition

2. Anti-Drone-Warfare Coalition
A project of

3. ANTI-DRONE WARFARE COALITION
Is:
 Thomas Merton Center Antiwar Committee
 Code Pink Women for Peace
 Veterans for Peace
 American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
 Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
 The Greens
 Several dedicated interns and volunteers

4. Where Are Drones Used?
 U.S. government has increasingly deployed them
in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.
 Especially in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.
 The United States is not officially at war with these
countries.

5. Drone Warfare Doesn’t Make the
U.S. Safer
 For every one person killed by drones, several
enemies of the U.S. are created.
 U.S. strikes have helped recruitment to violent
armed groups and motivated more violent attacks.
 Three quarters of Pakistanis now consider the
United States to be an enemy.

6. Impact of Drone Warfare:
• U.S. drone strikes have killed
100’s of civilians in Pakistan –
including whole households.
• Families are afraid to attend
weddings or funerals because of
U.S. drone strikes.
• Civilians live in constant fear
since drones could strike at any time.
• U.S. drones have facilitated recruitment to
violent non-state armed groups.

7. U.S. Drone Strikes Violate
International Law
 A recent Congressional Research Service report stated that
drone strikes run afoul of international law.
 International law experts say that attacks on civilian rescuers
are clearly illegal.
 Many drone strikes may constitute war crimes according to …
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Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Christof Heyns, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings
Richard Falk, Professor of International Affairs at Princeton University

8. U.S. Drone Strikes Violate
U.S. Law
 Judge Katherine Forrest ruled that the 2001 Authorization to
Use Military Force did not cover mere "supporters" of such
groups.
 She questioned whether it covered "associated forces.“
 Under this ruling "signature strikes" and "secondary strikes"
would be illegal under U.S. law.
 “Outside of armed conflict, the use of drones for targeted
killings is almost never likely to be legal” -- Phillip Alston, Law
Professor.

9. U.S. Drone Strikes Violate
the Magna Carta
 The Magna Carta is the basis of our legal system.
 It recognized that anybody accused of a crime has a right to
be judged by a jury of one’s peers.
 With drones, the President and his advisers arrogate to
themselves the role of judge, jury and executioner.
 Drones nullify gains in human rights dating back to 1215.

10. Drones Are Coming to the U.S.
• Metropolitan police and county sheriffs are acquiring smaller
drones to assist their SWAT operations.
• Congress recently mandated that the Federal Aviation
Administration open domestic airspace to private and
commercial drones by 2015.
• Congress also required the FAA to speed up the licensing of
government drones -- military, homeland security, and law
enforcement -- in commercial U.S. airways.
• A drone operating base just opened in Horsham, PA (outside
of Philadelphia).
• Drones use technology developed at CMU.

11. ANTI-DRONE WARFARE COALITION
Does:
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Tables, flyers, shows films about drones.
Plans to put on a play about drones.
Is part of a state-wide network against drones.
Holds rallies to end drone warfare.

12. RALLY AGAINST
DRONE WARFARE!
• Sat., Nov. 30
• 2pm – 3:30pm
• Forbes & Murray, Squirrel Hill

13. ANTI-DRONE WARFARE COALITION Join Us!
• Meets the 3rd Sunday of each month -- except
the next meeting which is Nov. 24th
• 1:30 PM
• At the Thomas Merton Center
• 5129 Penn Avenue in Garfield

14. For More Info
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Go to droneswatch.org
Or thomasmertoncenter.org
Francine Porter francineporter@aol.com
Or Pete Shell pshell@cmu.edu