[Peace-discuss] how about a Durbin letter to President Obama on new CIA chief and drone strike policy?

[Carl G. Estabrook]

Bob--

I think Mort is right. How would you evaluate your letter if it were written in the circumstances of 50 years ago?

"But here's the thing. There is no way to do anything about the Kennedy
administration's carpet bombing of South Vietnam
that will have practical effect without moving mainstream
institutions. And there is no way to move mainstream institutions
without making plausible asks. And 'stop all the bombing' is not
a plausible ask of a Senator right now. There is an important
difference between what makes sense to say in a demonstration on the
street and what makes sense to say in a conversation with a Senator.

"Stopping all the bombing that blatantly violates international law
would stop the overwhelming majority of strikes. That is a plausible
ask. It would save a lot of lives. Why not go after that first? If 95%
of violence is slam-dunk not justified, and 5% is arguably borderline,
why not go after the 95% first, and worry about the 5% later?"

The point is that a demand to "stop all the illegal bombing in Vietnam" 
would be (a) a call to stop all of Kennedy's bombing of Vietnam
or (b) a (false) assertion that some of it was legal. 

The situation seems the same today.  --CGE


On Dec 2, 2012, at 11:33 AM, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:

> A worthy sentiment.
> 
> But here's the thing. There is no way to do anything about the drone
> strikes that will have practical effect without moving mainstream
> institutions. And there is no way to move mainstream institutions
> without making plausible asks. And "stop all the drone strikes" is not
> a plausible ask of a Senator right now. There is an important
> difference between what makes sense to say in a demonstration on the
> street and what makes sense to say in a conversation with a Senator.
> 
> Stopping all drone strikes that blatantly violate international law
> would stop the overwhelming majority of strikes. That is a plausible
> ask. It would save a lot of lives. Why not go after that first? If 95%
> of violence is slam-dunk not justified, and 5% is arguably borderline,
> why not go after the 95% first, and worry about the 5% later?
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Dec 1, 2012 at 7:53 PM, Brussel, Morton K <brussel at illinois.edu> wrote:
>> I don't want a "reform"; I want it stopped!
>> 
>> --mkb
>> 
>> On Dec 1, 2012, at 2:52 PM, Robert Naiman wrote:
>> 
>>> What do you think of the idea of Senator Durbin sending a letter to
>>> President Obama ahead of his announcement of his pick to head the CIA,
>>> saying this is an opportunity for a fundamental reform of the drone
>>> strike policy; in particular, getting the CIA out of drone strikes (a
>>> proposal which has been endorsed by the Washington Post editorial
>>> board, Human Rights Watch, and the 9/11 Commission.)
>>> 
>>> That could be the marquee demand for a list of reforms of drone strike
>>> policy that Senator Durbin would like to see, knocking down the most
>>> egregious aspects of current policy, such as:
>>> 
>>> - legal justification not disclosed
>>> - civilian victims not compensated
>>> - civilian harm not publicly assessed
>>> - secondary strikes/attacks on rescuers
>>> - signature strikes whose targeting criteria violate international law
>>> on their face
>>> 
>>> Here's some relevant ink:
>>> 
>>> Obama’s pick for CIA could affect drone program
>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obamas-pick-for-cia-could-affect-drone-program/2012/11/24/4dc58dc2-3349-11e2-bfd5-e202b6d7b501_story.html
>>> 
>>> US: Transfer CIA Drone Strikes to Military
>>> Ensure Intelligence Agency Abides by International Law
>>> APRIL 20, 2012
>>> http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/20/us-transfer-cia-drone-strikes-military
>>> 
>>> Pulling the U.S. drone war out of the shadows
>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-drone-war-demands-accountability/2012/11/01/56627964-2380-11e2-8448-81b1ce7d6978_story.html
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Robert Naiman
>>> Policy Director
>>> Just Foreign Policy
>>> www.justforeignpolicy.org
>>> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Peace-discuss mailing list
>>> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>>> http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Robert Naiman
> Policy Director
> Just Foreign Policy
> www.justforeignpolicy.org
> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss