Collateral Damage: A Grandma in Her 60's

[Alan Grayson]

After Congressman Grayson conducted Congress's first-ever briefing on Wednesday for the victims of drone attacks, CNN interviewed our Congressman With Guts. Here is what he said:

Brooke Baldwin: A missile falls from the sky, killing a grandmother and nearly killing her two grandchildren. Not because of what they did, but who they were possibly near. That is the tragedy that lawmakers heard today in this unprecedented meeting on Capitol Hill. For the very first time, Members of Congress heard from two reported survivors of a drone attack in Pakistan one year ago this week. These survivors – here they are – these are children of a primary school teacher whose story is featured in a documentary that's releasing tomorrow; it's called Unmanned: America's Drone Wars. And in fact a clip of that film was played during today's briefing, and then the boy and the girl described the drone they say nearly killed them.

--begin clip of Drone Strike Survivors Briefing--

Nabila Rehman: Everything was dark and I couldn't see anything, but I heard a scream. [Maybe] it was my grandmother, but I couldn't see her. I was very scared, and all I could think of doing was just run. I kept running, but I felt something in my hand, and I looked in my hand, there was blood. I tried to bandage my hand, but the blood kept coming. The blood wouldn't stop.

Zubair Rehman: I no longer love blue skies. In fact, I now prefer gray skies. The drones do not fly when the skies are gray. And for a short period of time, the mental tension and fear eases.

--end clip of briefing--

Brooke: Prefers gray skies, he says. Representative Alan Grayson of Florida invited that Pakistani to the U.S. to come and speak. He joins me now from Capitol Hill. Congressman, welcome.

Representative Alan Grayson: Thank you.

Brooke: We heard – you heard, and Members of Congress heard -- some of these drone strike victims, an incredibly unique perspective. You organized this briefing. What was your takeaway?

Alan: My takeaway is that we're undertaking something that's beyond anyone's capability: trying to decide on the basis of what we see, on a computer screen in the United States, who lives and who dies 8,000 miles away in a foreign land. It's inherently difficult, it's virtually impossible, and we're making many mistakes. There have already been as many as 200 children – children – who have died in these drone attacks, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, and in Yemen.

Brooke: You know very well the argument for drone strikes. For the viewer, let me just show a list that CNN compiled of the top terrorists killed in 2012. And the first five here on this list, all killed by drones. The first name there, this is Yahya al-Libi, who had a $1 million reward for his capture. And then this perspective, this is a former advisor to the Pentagon saying this, recently. Take a listen:

--begin clip of Jeremy Bash on CNN--

Jeremy Bash: So the question really for the United States is how do we go after terrorists who hide in areas where we can't send in tanks, where we can't send in special forces, where we can't barrage the camps with artillery? And so we have developed a very precise, very effective weapon that can take out terrorists before they plot attacks against us.

--end clip of Jeremy Bash--

Brooke: Congressman, how do you answer that question? What is the alternative?

Alan: The alternative is to rely upon other countries to clean up their own messes, instead of having us send our death equipment to the other side of the world, to perform those acts for them. In this case, we're talking about Pakistan. Pakistan just received a billion dollars in U.S. aid. In fact, Pakistan receives about a billion dollars in U.S. aid every single year. And Pakistan has a one-million-man army. We're talking about capturing no more than 100 or 200 or maybe even 300 people operating in Pakistan. Why can't they do it for us?

Brooke: But Congressman, I have to jump in because I immediately think of Osama Bin Laden. Granted that he was not taken out by a drone, but can we trust these other countries?

Alan: Well, the alternative is to see casualties that are staggering, among innocent people, like the 200 children whom I mentioned. All the estimates are that between ten and thirty percent of the people whom we kill by drone attacks are completely, completely innocent, including this grandmother in her sixties.


Brooke: I hear you, and I know that so much of this for you and so many others whom I've talked to on this program say that so much of this is about what's dubbed this phrase "collateral damage," the killing of innocent civilians. But how much of this also, Congressman, is about the secrecy of this drone program?

Alan: Well, that's part of it, but I think that people look at the pros without considering the cons. Public opinion in Pakistan is completely inflamed against us, and we are losing the cooperation of an important regional ally because of these drone attacks. The same thing is true in Yemen. The same thing is true in many countries in the Middle East, and in fact around the world. The reason why we're killing these people is because we want to prevent them from taking action against the United States, but we are inflaming the opinions of millions of people against us when there are alternatives that don't require that, [alternatives] that are far more effective, less dangerous, and less likely to result in innocent deaths.

Brooke: I know that critics have called for some sort of judicial review or process, sort of a counterweight, versus something entirely relied upon within the executive branch, so I return to this family of these youngsters that you brought from Pakistan. Do they have any legal recourse against the United States for what they say happened to them?

Alan: Well, that of course remains to be seen, but we are talking about a whole class of people who are killed upon the command of one man. Generally speaking, it's God who decides who lives and dies, unless you're talking about drone attacks.

Brooke: Congressman Alan Grayson, thank you so much.

Alan: Thank you very much.

Let us share with you a very special moment from the briefing. After asking the witnesses a few questions, Congressman Grayson turned to the victim's son and said, "I'm sorry for your loss." He replied with his only words in English: "Thank you."

To see the CNN interview, or to make a contribution, click here.

[NYC_SKP]

1. I thank the Congressman for his service.

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