CODEPINK monitors drones in Waziristan.
By Pam Bailey
Throughout my stay in Pakistan, I have been noting similarities in the challenges faced by the people in the frontier regions here and in Gaza. Both populations are under daily threat by foreign drones (US vs. Israel), the movement of both groups is tightly controlled, and both peoples are judged by the world based on internal factions branded as “extremist.”
Whenever I speak about Gaza, invariably I will sooner rather than later be confronted with a question about the violence wrought by Hamas, often to the extent that the sins of the Israeli occupation (a primary motivator of Hamas actions) are brushed to the side. With Pakistan, it’s the Taliban that most often is raised when I talk or write about the evil of US drone strikes. After all, how else, I am asked (even by some Pakistanis), can we destroy this dreaded terrorist group?
