From: NBC Rachel Maddow, facebook
COMMENT - It takes time for the public to 'get' all of the parts of a complex issue, but this is now happening. War contractors, not foreseen by the founders as having as cozy a relationship as they have come to have today, were not discussed or allowed for. Therefore, one of the issues which must be raised, in parallel with the attempts by agencies, government and politicians to thwart the need for accountability and LIABILITY, are now very much on point.
Clearly, Noor Behram, an attorney in Pakistan now preparing to sue the governmental authorities, needs to add all of those supplying software, components, or other materials needed for production, to his suit. Fortunately, many of these 'contractors,' including Green Hills Software, Inc., have a presence overseas, so seizing their assets will be far easier than that of government.
I'm volunteering myself as a sort of 'character witness' for the folks at Green Hills Software, well able to give direct testimony, citing specifics and providing evidence, as to their ethics and human concern for children and other non-combatants. Nice of me, don't you think?
Rachel's FaceBook:
South Asia Solidarity Initiative · 431 like this
July 1, 2012 at 4:05pm · 
Noor Behram: Photographer of Pakistan's drone victims
A local journalist has taken the lead in drawing attention to
the victims of drone strikes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
of Pakistan. Persistent drone attacks in this region have terrorized the
community and disorganized the societal structure, which is the basis
of support for the people. Noor Behram has dedicated himself to
publicizing the tragic consequences of a foreign army pursuing its own
aims. He has compiled a dossier of photographs of child victims of drone
attacks and of the devastation of destroyed homes and lives.
According to Shahzad Akbar of the Foundation for Fundamental Rights
in Islamabad, Noor came to town a year ago and asked for assistance in
finding a venue where he could show his photos. When he couldn’t get a
gallery to support a showing, he set them up on the street. Since then,
his pictures have appeared in numerous news outlets – from The Guardian of London to Rachel Maddow’s television show on MSNBC.
On October 7, posters made from these photos adorned and identified our
buses as we headed for South Waziristan with Imran Khan’s
Peace March.
Noor attended a meeting we held with some family
members of victims of drone attacks. [Photos from that October 5th
meeting can be found in this collection on Flickr.com.]
During the introductions, he busily sifted through a large envelope
full of photos. When he spoke, he held up the images that would
illustrate his words. Noor says that he has about 100 photos of children
who have been killed by drone attacks, but there are many more whose
bodies were torn to pieces by the Hellfire missiles that took their
lives, or who were already buried by the time he was able to arrive.
The
villagers under attack are a very private people, but they have Noor’s
cell number and he has earned their trust. When tragedy strikes, they
call him, and wherever he is, he rushes to the scene of the disaster to
record the event and photograph the devastation. He said:
I don’t face any resistance on the ground because my only reason for taking these photos is to document that there are women and children being killed. The only problem I face is the drones themselves. They talk to me because I am a local person and I am only trying to show how many people are being killed.
Like their children,
many women have died in drone strikes; often because they are working in
an area, like a kitchen, adjacent to a targeted gathering. Noor has
counted 670 women killed in drone strikes to date. Reporting the deaths
of women presents a special problem, as many local villagers are loath
to even provide their names, much less photographs. However, Noor is
compiling a list of women who have died in these attacks, identified by
the names of their husbands, fathers, and brothers.
Noor faces many risks in his work, as the CIA
has been accused of using a practice called a “double tap”: after an
initial attack, drones hover and wait for people (including rescue
workers) to arrive at the site; they are said to then launch a follow-up
attack. Through his photographs he has made people visible in new,
previously unacceptable ways, which can expose him to reactionary
elements. And, due to his efforts, he is a political target for forces
within the U.S. and Pakistani establishments
that may support the drone attacks. But Noor Behram is a man with a
mission, and these concerns do not influence his pursuit of justice.
Judy
Bello is a peace activist based in Webster, New York, and a member of
the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Task Force on the Middle East. She
maintains a regular blog on U.S. foreign policy and this profile is drawn from her October 2012 trip to Pakistan as part of a CODEPINK peace delegation.
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