Trump escalates US drone war in Somalia [Archive]

ckaihatsu

14th July 2017, 16:23

Drones. A whistleblower. A human story you should know.

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Brandon Bryant did what we hope people will do. He decided to let his conscience be his guide. Now he needs our help.

Brandon was a drone operator in the U.S. Air Force. Working with USAF intelligence and top-secret agencies, he was part of a military process that had the capability to hunt and kill people anywhere on the globe.

His conscience didn’t just bother Brandon. It told him to stop. And he did. It told him to speak out. And he did.

The term “drone whistleblower” scarcely existed back in October 2013, when he went to New York and spoke at the United Nations as part of a panel that also included scholars, human-rights activists and officials.

At that UN session, Rolling Stone reported a few days later, “the most moving statement came from Brandon Bryant, a former U.S. Air Force drone operator who logged thousands of hours firing remote missiles at distant targets in Afghanistan and Iraq over six years.”

The magazine quoted Brandon telling the UN gathering: “At the end of our pledge of allegiance, we say ‘with liberty and justice for all.’ I believe that should be applied to not only American citizens but everyone we interact with as well -- to put them on an equal level and treat them with respect.”

Two years later, during an interview on Democracy Now, Brandon said: “I think that it’s completely unfair that we helped prosecute German Nazis in World War II who were just following orders, and we can’t put ourselves under that same umbrella. We helped create this current system, the international court system, and we are unable to hold ourselves accountable for our own actions. I think that’s completely unfair to the rest of the world.”

Brandon has given countless interviews, and he has spoken to many audiences, in the United States and overseas. While struggling with post-traumatic stress, he openly shared his anguish -- and called for moral precepts to prevail by ending the U.S. drone program of remote killing.

The road has been rough for Brandon in the wake of his brave decision to follow his conscience. “I never got the rest or recovery that I wanted,” he told us a few days ago. “I was flooded with requests for interviews and hate mail.”

Now, midway through 2017, the RootsAction Education Fund is launching a Drone Whistleblower Fellowship for Brandon Bryant.

Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to this Fellowship for Brandon Bryant. (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yDgQmYNdJgRxPn%2FDVzxxzrAsb9eUharj)

“Most stay silent and hope that problems fix themselves,” Brandon commented in a recent note to us at the RootsAction Education Fund.

In the midst of the current warfare state -- to give some moral and financial support for not staying silent -- you can make a tax-deductible contribution now (http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kQX2IHEIbiryTiYGIxR2K7Asb9eUharj).

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Thank you!
--- The RootsAction Education Fund team

Background:
>> Democracy Now: An interview with Brandon Bryant
>> Rolling Stone: Individuals, Worlds Apart, United By the Trauma of Drone Strikes
>> Democracy Now: “Numbing & Horrible”: Former Drone Operator Brandon Bryant on His Haunting First Kill
>> Los Angeles Times: U.S. veterans support legal fight by Yemini man whose relatives were killed in drone strike

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