Nick Mottern responds to NYT article/Malala to Obama: "Drones Fueling Terrorism"

Friends, After sending out this New York Times article “At Drone Conference, Talk of Morals and Toys,” I received this response: Strangely this article gives no report on the content of the "Life Under Drones" panel in which Madiha Tahir and Wazhmah Osman gave powerful, detailed accounts what Pakistanis and Afghanis are experiencing in drone attacks. Wazhmah also pointed out repeatedly that the conference bosses declined to allow her to show the slides she had brought to illustrate her presentation and Madiha said the the conference bosses had declined to use a picture she submitted to go with promotional material about the conference; I believe she said the picture shows a drone victim or victims. Nor did the reporter point out that Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a lawyer from the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, had not been permitted a visa to enter the United States to attend this conference. Christopher Rogers, of the Open Society Foundation, substituted for Shahzad Akbar and did an excellent job of describing world of violent chaos created by the Pakistani military and various other armed groups in the drone kill zones in Pakistan into which the US feels free to fire Hellfire missiles and subject to the terror caused by multiple drones constantly flying overhead. As one of those among the Granny Peace Brigade protest, I want to note that a number of the conference participants thanked us for being there and expressed the concern that the conference seemed to be too weighted to favor the drone industry. Nick Mottern, KnowDrones.org http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/19831-malala-to-obama-qdrones-fueling-terrorismq Rucker reports: "Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani student who was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for speaking out in support of the right of girls to go to school, met Friday with Obama and his wife, Michelle." President Obama meets with Malala Yousafzai in the oval office. (photo: White House) Malala to Obama: "Drones Fueling Terrorism" By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post 12 October 13 Malala Yousafzai may not have won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, but she enjoyed a private Oval Office audience with President Obama and the first family. Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani student who was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for speaking out in support of the right of girls to go to school, met Friday with Obama and his wife, Michelle. A photograph issued by the White House shows the Obamas' 15-year-old daughter, Malia, also present during the visit. The Obamas welcomed Yousafzai to the Oval Office "to thank her for her inspiring and passionate work on behalf of girls education in Pakistan," according to a statement issued by the White House. The statement added, "The United States joins with the Pakistani people and so many around the world to celebrate Malala's courage and her determination to promote the right of all girls to attend school and realize their dreams." Yousafzai said she was honored to meet Obama and that she raised concerns with him about the administration's use of drones, saying they are "fueling terrorism." "I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees," Yousafzai said in a statement published by the Associated Press. "I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact." The Pakistani teen was in Washington on Friday for an address at the World Bank, part of her U.S. visit to promote her new memoir, "I Am Malala.” © 2013 Reader Supported News Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/ "The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs