From the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (http://www.nrcat.org):
Recent reports indicate that President Trump has given the CIA the authority to carry out more drone strikes and that he may be loosening the rules on civilian casualties for both the Department of Defense and the CIA. This is in line with his campaign rhetoric that there is nothing wrong with killing family members of suspected terrorists.
Many Members of Congress – both Democrat and Republican – are concerned about the President’s cavalier attitude toward civilian casualties. Likewise, there are many who have served in our military who understand that killing civilians is not only wrong, but it also undermines our country’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives.
Official reports indicate that President Obama’s drone program killed between 65 and 117 civilians – although these numbers do not include civilians who died as a result of strikes in combat zones (including Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan). Human rights groups believe that the real number of civilian deaths is higher – as many as 1000. Unfortunately, the number of civilians who die as a result of drone strikes will likely increase significantly if President Trump has his way.
Please write to your Members of Congress at http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2162/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=21421 and tell them two things:
First, that as a person of faith you are concerned about the reports suggesting that the President may loosen the rules on civilian casualties and that you hope that they will act to put in place new laws to prevent civilian casualties.
And second, that if there are drone strikes, they should be carried out by the Department of Defense, not the CIA. While any drone strike risks civilian casualties, the Department of Defense is more transparent and is institutionally more concerned about abiding by the laws of war.
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