Tucson anti-war activists demand: ‘Ground the drones!’
Tucson, AZ – Eastside morning traffic was greeted by two dozen anti-war activists at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Oct. 11, with signs reading “Drones kill children” and “Drone attacks create terrorists.”
Speaking about the base’s role in the so-called ‘war on terror,’ event organizer Jack Cohen-Joppa said, “This base contains drone operators who remotely fly the drones that lurk over the skies and bomb the people of the Middle East.” The U.S. military drone program began under President Bush and has escalated under President Obama to over 500 strikes and up to 1000 civilians killed.
“This wanton, indiscriminate killing of Muslim and Arab peoples must stop and we need to build a strong anti-war, anti-imperialist movement to stop it because the corporations who profit from war will not stop it themselves. It is the peoples’ struggle that will stop them,” said Matt Smith, a longtime anti-war activist.
Several participants in the action came from the weekend’s School of the Americas Watch event that took place in the border region to highlight the oppression of migrants and their families. The Oct. 11 action was also joined by CODEPINK founder Medea Benjamin, who is in Tucson for a speaking tour.
The Tucson Anti-War Committee is planning an action to protest the U.S. role in Syria in the coming week.