Family of grandmother killed in US drone strike arrive for Congress visit

[CaseyJones]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/27/drones-attack-pakistan-family-rehman-congress

Drawing on a pad of paper in a Washington DC hotel, Nabeela ur Rehman recalled the day her grandmother was killed. "I was running away," the nine-year told the Guardian. "I was trying to wipe away the blood."

"It was as if it was night all of the sudden."

The date was 24 October 2012, the eve of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holy day. Nabeela's father, Rafiq ur Rehman, a school teacher living in the remote Pakistani tribal region of North Waziristan, was dropping off sweets at his sister's home when it happened.

He had hoped to make the visit a family affair but his mother urged him to go alone. Rafiq did as she wished then stopped at the local mosque for evening prayers before taking the bus home. As the vehicle came to a halt at his stop, Rehman noticed something unsettling: members of his community were preparing to bury a body at a small graveyard nearby.

"I got a little worried," Rehman said. He asked a boy what was going on. The child informed him that the mother of a man named Latif Rehman had been killed in a drone attack. The boy did not know the man he spoke to was Latif Rehman's younger brother.

"That's when I first knew," Rehman said, describing how he learned of his mother's death. The fruits Rehman had collected at the bazaar fell from his hands. "I just dropped everything. I was in a state of shock," he said. Rehman feared the worst. He knew his children were with their grandmother. "I frantically ran to my house."

Rehman arrived home to find that the charred remains of his mother had already been buried. Two of his children, Nabeela and her 12-year-old brother, Zubair, had been injured and taken to a nearby hospital, neighbors said. "At that point, I thought I had lost them as well," Rehman said.

The children survived the attack, but their recovery process was just beginning. A year later, Rehman still has no idea why his mother, Momina Bibi, a 67-year-old midwife, was blown to pieces while tending her garden. Along with Nabeela and Zubair, Rehman has traveled to Washington DC to seek answers. On Tuesday, the family will appear before members of Congress to describe their experience, marking the first time in history that US lawmakers will hear directly from the survivors of an alleged US drone strike.

 

[JK/SEA]

so apparently these people don't know we are spreading democracy....send in more drones....

 

[enhanced_deficit]

His puppet masters could be shaking in their pants/panties that US public may finally find out first hand that SWC has been killing children and grandmas in the name of spreading freedom?

 

[kcchiefs6465]

His puppet masters could be shaking in their pants/panties that US public may finally find out first hand that SWC has been killing children and grandmas in the name of spreading freedom?

No one really cares.

He assassinated a US citizen and there were cheers. People are docile and fed. It will take a lot more to bring them to reality than this case.

Look at Shumaila Kanwal's public suicide. The reaction will be similar, i.e. none.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

No one really cares.

He assassinated a US citizen and there were cheers. People are docile and fed. It will take a lot more to bring them to reality than this case.

Look at Shumaila Kanwal's public suicide. The reaction will be similar, i.e. none.

There is probably good basis for such cynicism.

But there is a gradual shift taking place I suspect. Channel surfing while driving yesterday caught a soundbite of Travis Smiley and Cornel West on PBS radio where they were both agreeing that SWC's "drone presidency" is reign of a war criminal essentially. West has been vocal for sometime but gradually even SWC's college buddies are starting to call him war criminal.

This is old clip, TYT host is yapping around but it has good info value still:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m88btcTTL4

 

[Snew]

I hate reading stories like this and then seeing stuff like the World Series tonight during the seventh inning stretch when the announcer goes on about how the soldiers are protecting our freedoms. What about Momina Bibi's freedom?

 

[kcchiefs6465]

I hope the tides are turning.

I've seen fairly recent polls where 61% believe in drone warfare. Putting a picture to the victims no doubt will help and truth be told, depending on who they're testifying to, a good berating dose of reality would be appreciated. Then we'd need to ensure it goes viral.

There are some pretty shocking cases that people are well aware of and the overall reaction I get from people is, "Good."

I don't mean to let my cynicism rain on anyone's parade but many of these people are hungry for more. No doubt we're stuck in Yemen for at least another decade, Somalia and the Horn of Africa are ripe for intervention. A lot of people see drones as a surgical means to wage warfare without exposing troops to danger. Only once they understand the basis of which these operations are occurring, often times without even knowing the name of the individual they are bombing, for example, might it end. Though even then..

Barack Obama being a popularly elected charismatic president has cemented these ideas into American foreign policy. It will take a lot to undo it. Truth be told, things aren't looking too bright on that front. The tipping point is probably near.

I wish the family nothing less than justice. They came to the wrong place if justice is what they hope for, though.

 

[enhanced_deficit]

I hope the tides are turning.

I've seen fairly recent polls where 61% believe in drone warfare. Putting a picture to the victims no doubt will help and truth be told, depending on who they're testifying to, a good berating dose of reality would be appreciated. Then we'd need to ensure it goes viral.

There are some pretty shocking cases that people are well aware of and the overall reaction I get from people is, "Good."

I don't mean to let my cynicism rain on anyone's parade but many of these people are hungry for more. No doubt we're stuck in Yemen for at least another decade, Somalia and the Horn of Africa are ripe for intervention. A lot of people see drones as a surgical means to wage warfare without exposing troops to danger. Only once they understand the basis of which these operations are occurring, often times without even knowing the name of the individual they are bombing, for example, might it end. Though even then..

Barack Obama being a popularly elected charismatic president has cemented these ideas into American foreign policy. It will take a lot to undo it. Truth be told, things aren't looking too bright on that front. The tipping point is probably near.

I wish the family nothing less than justice. They came to the wrong place if justice is what they hope for, though.

All valid points. Only thing I would add is that support for drones drops to 29% when people are informed they also kill children, civilians.
Secondly, in real life I don't come across anyone who still finds O "charismatic". That bubble has burst imo even if he still has supporters within mindless libs, left wing neocons, wall streeters, SWCs etc.