Keep
Space for Peace Week -- International Days of Protest to Stop the
Militarization of Space is happening from Sat., Oct. 1 through Sat., Oct.
8. Go to http://space4peace.org/actions/ksfpw16.htm. The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore will do its annual Keep
Space for Peace Week protest at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade,
Maryland at 11 AM on Sat., Oct. 8. We will be promoting a pardon for
Edward Snowden. Rides will be available. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or
mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.
Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore,
MD 21218 Email mobuszewski at verizon.net;
Phone 410-366-1637
October 7, 2016
Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers
Director, National Security Agency
Chief, Central Security Service
National Security Agency
Fort George G. Meade, MD 20755
Dear Admiral Rogers:
For years, members of the Pledge of
Resistance-Baltimore have expressed a grave concern for the National Security
Agency’s role in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the attacks on
Libya, Pakistan and Yemen. The loss of lives, the devastation wreaked on
civilian populations, and the resulting instability cause us to request a
meeting with you or your representative. As you know we have repeatedly
made this request.
After seeing Oliver Stone’s SNOWDEN, I noticed that Ed
Snowden may have been influenced by the depravity of killer drone
strikes. Anyone who believes in the constitution understands that the
Obama administration is engaged in an assassination program through the use of
unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones. We believe this
assassination program is immoral, illegal and unconstitutional. Even U.S.
citizens have been assassinated by drones without a semblance of due
process. Your agency is deeply involved in this program by providing
potential targets for the president's "kill list." If there was a
judicial system in this country willing to take on high-level government
officials, all of the elites involved in this ongoing war crime would be
prosecuted. Instead the only one being charged is whistleblower Ed
Snowden.
In our opinion, Snowden, and Tom Drake and the other
whistleblowers, were obliged by the Nuremberg Principles to speak out when
government officials violate the law. Your agency has a well-recognized
history of activities which violate the constitution, included rampant examples
of illegal surveillance.
If you can arrange a meeting so that we can raise our
specific concerns with someone in a policy-making capacity, we would adjust our
schedules to be there. As a government official, you have a
responsibility to meet with citizen activists. Obviously we would want to
discuss our concerns and other issues raised by Snowden, the renowned
whistleblower. In fact, we would like to urge you to call for a pardon for
Edward Snowden.
As you know Saudi Arabia is committing war crimes in Yemen with U.S.
weapons, intelligence and support. In 2011 in Yemen, CIA drone attacks were
used to kill, first, Anwar Al-Awlaki and weeks later his son. They were U.S.
citizens, who were never charged, brought to trial, or convicted of any crime.
In fact, other U.S. citizens have been assassinated by killer drone strikes
without any pretense of due process.
According to a report, “US: Reassess Targeted
Killings in Yemen,” released on October 21, 2013 by Human Rights Watch “United
States targeted airstrikes against alleged terrorists in Yemen have killed
civilians in violation of international law." The report added that the
strikes are creating a public backlash that undermines US efforts against
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Eventually, the Obama administration revealed that
bogus intelligence caused the deaths of Warren
Weinstein, 73, an aid worker from Maryland who was a contractor for the U.S.
Agency for International Development, and Giovanni Lo Porto, 39, an Italian
citizen working for a German aid agency. Both were kidnapped by al-Qaeda in
Pakistan. These names should be seared in the conscience of all involved
in their killings.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for
Constitutional Rights brought a lawsuit in US federal court against the Obama
Administration regarding the assassination of Al-Awlaki. The suit was lost on
procedural grounds; however, the judge in the case stated "Can the
executive order the assassination of a US citizen without first affording him
any form of judicial process whatsoever, based on the mere assertion that he is
a dangerous member of a terrorist organization?"
The killer drone strikes only promote more terrorism directed at
the US. This point was made by Malala Yousafzai when she met with President
Obama and his family. On Oct. 11, 2013 Philip Rucker of THE WASHINGTON
POST wrote this: “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.’”
We are also disturbed by the lack of transparency and oversight by
congress. In spite of assurances from President Obama that the victims of drone
strikes are surgical targets, it has been reported that hundreds of victims who
are innocent of crimes against the US have been killed including civilian men,
women, and children. These people have names and families who love them.
As you know the NSA failed miserably to protect us from the
9/11 terroristic strike. One could argue this monumental failure was
caused by gathering too much information. For example, the illegal
metadata collection is an enormous waste of time, energy and tax dollars.
And such a program is blatantly unconstitutional.
We hope that you will take our concerns seriously, and
decide to set up a meeting. You exist in an insular world, and you could
benefit from a meeting with peace and justice activists. Presumably, the
National Security Agency could be involved in legitimate activities to protect
this country, but such activities as illegal spying and surveillance or
involvement in warmongering must be immediately discontinued. Doing this
could bring some honor to your agency, and also give you an opportunity to
promote reconciliation and diplomacy rather than pernicious killer drone
strikes. A U.S. policy of endless wars and unconstitutional surveillance
must be placed in the dustbin of history. We look forward to your
response.
In peace,
Max Obuszewski
On behalf of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; 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
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