Volunteers stretched out on the ground playing dead while the sounds of a simulated drone attack permeated a corner in downtown Madison Monday in a demonstration of the use of unmanned drones in combat.
Chicago-based activist group Voices for Creative Non-Violence held a simulated drone attack on the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Doty Street to demonstrate the consequences of drone attacks in U.S.-led military operations overseas.
The demonstration included simulated drone noises from a boom box as three volunteers appeared to die on the street. The process repeated throughout the hour and included a drone model hung from a stick hovering near the demonstration.
Joy First, a long-time volunteer for the Vigil for Peace, who helped organize the event, said she hoped the demonstration would raise awareness of drone attacks.
“A lot of people in this country aren’t really aware of what these drones are doing,” First said. “We are calling on our government to stop drone killings because what they are doing is basically committing murder.”
According to a Vigil for Peace statement, an estimated 700 civilians were killed in 2009 in Pakistan, and for every target killed, 10 innocent people died.
Although many Americans like First oppose the use of drones in the war, public officials in Washington have said the technology is beneficial to American and coalition efforts in the region.
U.S. forces have collaborated with Pakistani forces to root out multiple suspected terrorists near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past several years.
In many of the collaborated intelligence operations, U.S. forces have used Predator Drones. In the wake of a bloody attack on NATO and U.S. fuel trucks this weekend, however, many have begun to question Pakistan’s reliability as an intelligence ally.
In response, Pakistani officials have said their collaborations with U.S. intelligence officials to attack Taliban forces inside their borders prove their commitment to U.S. interests.
U.S. officials also said yesterday they are happy with the relations between U.S. and Pakistani interests.
After the worst flooding in national history struck Pakistan this summer, many began to believe anti-American interests were beginning to compromise the Pakistani government.
-The Associated Press contributed to this report