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“These Drones Attack Us and the Whole World is Silent”: New Film Exposes Secret U.S. War | Democracy Now!
▻http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/31/these_drones_attack_us_and_the

A U.S. drone strike killed three people in northwest Pakistan earlier today, marking the first such attack since Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly called for President Obama to end the strikes. Just last week, Amnesty International said the United States may be committing war crimes by killing innocent Pakistani civilians in drone strikes. Today we air extended clips from the new documentary, “Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars,” and speak to filmmaker Robert Greenwald. The film looks at the impact of U.S. drone strikes through more than 70 interviews with attack survivors in Pakistan, a former U.S. drone operator, military officials and more. The film opens with the story of a 16-year-old Tariq Aziz, who was killed by a drone just days after attending an anti-drone conference in Islamabad. We are also joined by human rights attorney Jennifer Gibson of Reprieve, co-author of the report, “Living Under Drones.”

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“How Do You Justify Killing a Grandmother?” Amnesty Says U.S. Drone Strikes May Be War Crimes | Democracy Now!
▻http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/23/how_do_you_justify_killing_a

Amnesty International has released a major new report on how U.S. drone strikes kill civilians in Pakistan, where it says some deaths may amount to war crimes. The group reviewed 45 drone strikes that have occurred in North Waziristan since January 2012. It found at least 19 civilians were killed in just two of those strikes, despite claims by the Obama administration it is accurately targeting militants. In a separate report, Human Rights Watch criticized U.S. drone strikes in Yemen that have killed civilians. We are joined by Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher at Amnesty International and author of the report, “’Will I be Next?’ U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan.” Qadri asks: “How do they justify killing a grandmother if these weapons are so precise, if their standards in the policy for using them are very rigorous?” He also clarifies, “It’s not enough that a person is a militant to say that it’s okay to kill them. They have to be taking active part in hostilities to be lawfully targeted, and some other requirements as well.”

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The Military-Industrial Pundits: Conflicts of Interest Exposed for TV Guests Who Urged Syrian War
▻http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/18/the_military_industrial_pundits_conflicts_of

New research shows many so-called experts who appeared on television making the case for U.S. strikes on Syria had undisclosed ties to military contractors. A new report by the Public Accountability Initiative identifies 22 commentators with industry ties. While they appeared on television or were quoted as experts 111 times, their links to military firms were disclosed only 13 of those times. The report focuses largely on Stephen Hadley, who served as national security adviser to President George W. Bush. During the debate on Syria, he appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and Bloomberg TV. None of these stations informed viewers that Hadley currently serves as a director of the weapons manufacturer Raytheon that makes Tomahawk cruise missiles widely touted as the weapon of choice for bombing Syria. He also owns over 11,000 shares of Raytheon stock, which traded at all-time highs during the Syria debate. We speak to Kevin Connor of the Public Accountability Initiative, a co-author of the report.