Drone Warfare

sub-heading:
Killing by Remote Control
Foreword by
BARBARA EHRENREICH
$16.00

Adding to cart… The item has been added
  • 262 pages
  • Paperback ISBN 9781935928812
  • E-book ISBN 9781935928829
  • Publication May 2012

about the book

Weeks after the 2002 American invasion of Afghanistan, Medea Benjamin visited that country. There, on the ground, talking with victims of the strikes, she learned the reality behind the "precision bombs" on which U.S. forces were becoming increasingly reliant. Now, with the use of drones escalating at a meteoric pace, Benjamin has written this book as a call to action: "It is meant to wake a sleeping public," she writes, "lulled into thinking that drones are good, that targeted killings are making us safer."

Drone Warfare is a comprehensive look at the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who "pilots" these unmanned planes, who are the victims and what are the legal and moral implications. In vivid, readable style, the book also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward.

In reality, writes Benjamin, the assassinations we are carrying out via drones will come back to haunt us when others start doing the same thing-to us.

"In this remarkably cogent and carefully researched book, Medea Benjamin makes it clear that drones are not just another high-tech military trinket. Drone Warfare sketches out the nightmare possibilities posed by this insane proliferation." - Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed

"Activist extraordinaire Medea Benjamin has documented how the U.S. government's use of drones to murder hundreds of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen has increased the danger to our national security. Benjamin's Drone Warfare is the first book that reveals the vocal international citizen opposition that challenges the legality and morality of America's extrajudicial execution drones before they kill here at home." - Ann Wright, U.S. Army colonel (ret.) and former deputy chief of mission for U.S. embassies in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and elsewhere

About The Author / Editor

Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of the peace group CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than thirty years. Described as "one of America's most committed—and most effective-fighters for human rights" by New York Newsday, and called "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement" by the Los Angeles Times, Benjamin has distinguished herself as an eloquent and energetic figure in the progressive movement. A former economist and nutritionist with the United Nations and World Health Organization, she is the author/editor of eight books. Her articles appear regularly in publications such as The Huffington Post, CommonDreams, Alternet and OpEd News.

Read An Excerpt

from Chapter 1

At the 2004 Radio and Television Correspondent's Dinner, President Bush joked about searching for weapons of mass destruction under Oval Office furniture, since they had never been found in Iraq. The joke backfired when parents who had lost their children fighting in Iraq said they found it offensive and tasteless. Senator John Kerry said Bush displayed a "stunningly cavalier" attitude toward the war and those fighting it.

Six years later, at the White House Correspondent's Dinner, President Obama made his own not-so- funny joke about weapons and war. When the pop band Jonas Brothers was about to play to the packed room, Obama furrowed his brow and sent them a warning to keep away from his daughters. "Sasha and Malia are huge fans, but boys, don’t get any ideas. Two words for you: Predator drones. You'll never see it coming."

For people in Pakistan, where American drones have been dropping their Hellfire missiles, Obama's joke lost something in translation. According to Pakistani journalist Khawar Rizvi, few Pakistanis had ever heard of the Jonas Brothers or understood the reference to the President's daughters. "But one thing we do know: There’s nothing funny about Predator drones," said Rizvi.

in the media

Drone Warfare

sub-heading:
Killing by Remote Control
Foreword by
BARBARA EHRENREICH
$16.00

Add to Cart

Adding to cart… The item has been added

about the book

Weeks after the 2002 American invasion of Afghanistan, Medea Benjamin visited that country. There, on the ground, talking with victims of the strikes, she learned the reality behind the "precision bombs" on which U.S. forces were becoming increasingly reliant. Now, with the use of drones escalating at a meteoric pace, Benjamin has written this book as a call to action: "It is meant to wake a sleeping public," she writes, "lulled into thinking that drones are good, that targeted killings are making us safer."

Drone Warfare is a comprehensive look at the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who "pilots" these unmanned planes, who are the victims and what are the legal and moral implications. In vivid, readable style, the book also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward.

In reality, writes Benjamin, the assassinations we are carrying out via drones will come back to haunt us when others start doing the same thing-to us.

"In this remarkably cogent and carefully researched book, Medea Benjamin makes it clear that drones are not just another high-tech military trinket. Drone Warfare sketches out the nightmare possibilities posed by this insane proliferation." - Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed

"Activist extraordinaire Medea Benjamin has documented how the U.S. government's use of drones to murder hundreds of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen has increased the danger to our national security. Benjamin's Drone Warfare is the first book that reveals the vocal international citizen opposition that challenges the legality and morality of America's extrajudicial execution drones before they kill here at home." - Ann Wright, U.S. Army colonel (ret.) and former deputy chief of mission for U.S. embassies in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and elsewhere

About The Author / Editor

Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of the peace group CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than thirty years. Described as "one of America's most committed—and most effective-fighters for human rights" by New York Newsday, and called "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement" by the Los Angeles Times, Benjamin has distinguished herself as an eloquent and energetic figure in the progressive movement. A former economist and nutritionist with the United Nations and World Health Organization, she is the author/editor of eight books. Her articles appear regularly in publications such as The Huffington Post, CommonDreams, Alternet and OpEd News.

Read An Excerpt

from Chapter 1

At the 2004 Radio and Television Correspondent's Dinner, President Bush joked about searching for weapons of mass destruction under Oval Office furniture, since they had never been found in Iraq. The joke backfired when parents who had lost their children fighting in Iraq said they found it offensive and tasteless. Senator John Kerry said Bush displayed a "stunningly cavalier" attitude toward the war and those fighting it.

Six years later, at the White House Correspondent's Dinner, President Obama made his own not-so- funny joke about weapons and war. When the pop band Jonas Brothers was about to play to the packed room, Obama furrowed his brow and sent them a warning to keep away from his daughters. "Sasha and Malia are huge fans, but boys, don’t get any ideas. Two words for you: Predator drones. You'll never see it coming."

For people in Pakistan, where American drones have been dropping their Hellfire missiles, Obama's joke lost something in translation. According to Pakistani journalist Khawar Rizvi, few Pakistanis had ever heard of the Jonas Brothers or understood the reference to the President's daughters. "But one thing we do know: There’s nothing funny about Predator drones," said Rizvi.

in the media