OPEN LETTER to Beale AFB Commander Heather Fox

October 26, 2021
Dear Col. Heather Fox,

Likely you know that on August 29 of this year 10 members of the Afghan Ahmadi
family were recklessly killed in Kabul by a U.S. drone strike. Seven of the victims were
young children, including 3 toddler girls. The drone missile struck the vehicle of
Zamarai Ahmadi, age 40, as he arrived home from his work as an aide worker with an
American NGO that provides food for refugees in Afghanistan. In his vehicle were the
containers of drinking water that he picked up earlier that day to bring to his family’s
home, a home without potable water. Upon arrival, the children of his extended family
ran to the vehicle to greet them, as they usually do. Within seconds, the strike of the
lethal hellfire missile left its mark:

“Said Zamarai’s cousin: ‘Our children were in such a state that we tried to identify them
from their hands, ears or nose. None of them had their hands or feet intact in one place.
They were all in pieces.” Charred body parts, pieces of skull with chunks of hair, and a
foot melted into a sandal were among the remains taken to the morgue that day… “ [CNN
Report: “They wanted a new life in America. Instead they were killed by the US
military,” Sept. 14, 2021]

It was a horrific scene, as are all drone strikes. The Pentagon claimed with certainty
that they killed an ISIS affiliate/potential suicide bomber. Mark Milley, the Chairperson
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called it “a righteous strike.” The truth was finally revealed
due to excellent investigative journalism by CNN, New York Times, and others: All
were Afghan civilians, 7 young children. Military officials finally owned up to their
reckless error. Or was it an error? Does the US feel they have the right to murder
people in other countries on suspicion alone, without trial, or jury? Is this an
exceptional mistake or common practice?

The more significant truth is that the vast majority killed by U.S. drone strikes are not
the intended target, and indeed, most are civilians. This truth was exposed by military
documents leaked by Daniel Hale, former intelligence analyst turned drone
whistleblower, in THE DRONE PAPERS, published online by The Intercept in 2015.
Daniel Hale acted out of conscience and took enormous risks to educate the public and
expose the wrongfulness of the U.S. drone program. For this heroic act, he is serving 45
months in a maximum security prison. https://standwithdanielhale.org/

Today we are at Beale AFB as part of a national call to action this month to demand
justice for the Ahmadi family, and justice for Daniel Hale. Our demands are attached to
this letter. We are part of a new network, Ban Killer Drones, united to oppose drone
attacks and working collectively toward an international ban on armed and
surveillance drones at home and abroad.

Col. Fox, and Beale personnel, how would you feel if a foreign country fired a drone
into your home, killing members, young and old, of your beloved family? How would
your neighbors feel while picking up the unrecognizable and charred body parts of
loved ones after a strike on their homes, fired from a drone controlled remotely from
far away lands. How would it terrorize your community? Do you really think this can
be justified for us to do this to others? Where is our humanity as a country? This is not
making us more safe, but rather, continues to create more enemies, making us less safe.

We urge you Col. Fox to do everything you can to seek justice for the Ahmadi Family.
Help us put an end to this criminal and inhumane program that Beale AFB helps to
sustain. Please look over our demands below, and support us. Otherwise, as top
commander, you are ultimately responsible for the crimes committed here, and should
be prosecuted under the full extend of national and international laws. Assassination is
illegal. Drone killing is an inherently criminal and racist program.

Ban Killer Drones Demands:

1. An official apology by President Biden, as commander in chief of the U.S. military, to the
   Ahmadi family for the deaths of their family members.
2. $3 million (minimum) compensation payment for each of the 10 Ahmadi family
   members. (Comparable to nearly $3 million paid to the family of an Italian, Giovanni Lo Porto,
   mistakenly killed by the CIA in a 2015 U.S. drone attack on an al Qaeda compound in Pakistan.)
3. An immediate report from the Department of Defense on who in the chain of command
   was responsible for the drone attack on the Ahmadis. This includes the release of all
   communications and logs related to the attack from the White House down to the operator
   who pressed the button to launch the attack, and a report on whether and what charges are to
   be brought against those responsible for the killings.
4. That the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress:
   1) Investigate all U.S. drone attacks since 2001 pursuant to identifying all civilian and
   non-combatant victims; 2) oversee the disbursement of reparations to their families; 3)
   receive petitions and claims of victims of U.S. drone attacks and take actions as
   required to satisfy these petitions and claims; 4) seek the appropriation of sufficient
   funds to compensate families of non-combatant drone attack victims at the level of $3
   million for each victim; and 5) provide compensation to communities that have
   suffered U.S. drone attacks.
5. An immediate halt to all U.S. drone attacks and an end to U.S. plans and taxpayer support
   for weaponizing drones of all types.
   

We also demand an immediate pardon of Daniel Hale. Learn his story. PLEASE WATCH:
YouTube: In Memoriam Victims of US Drone Strike In Kabul, Afghanistan August 29, 2021

.

Drone Assassination Program

.

Specific Issues Index

.

from Creating Better World