Pakistani man threatens to sue CIA if not compensated for relatives' deaths

Source: Washington Post

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - A Pakistani man who said two of his relatives were killed in a U.S. drone strike said Monday that he planned to sue the CIA in Pakistani courts for "wrongful death" if he is not compensated within two weeks, a move that could renew debate over the legality of the covert program.

Kareem Khan, a journalist from the semi-autonomous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan, said he was seeking $500 million in damages from U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, CIA director Leon Panetta and the CIA station chief in this capital city. Khan said the strike killed his brother, his son and another man. He said that they were not connected to Taliban and al-Qaeda militants who are based in the region and are the targets of regular CIA drone strikes.

The U.S. carries out unmanned drone strikes in the tribal areas with the cooperation of the Pakistani government, but neither nation publicly acknowledges the clandestine program, and it is unlikely U.S. officials would cooperate with a court case. The attacks have increased sharply this year, and the vast majority have targeted militants in North Waziristan.

The drone strikes are highly controversial in Pakistan, where they are frequently blamed for civilian casualties and characterized as a violation of national sovereignty. But victims rarely come forward with their accounts or photographic evidence, and danger and government travel restrictions in the tribal belt make it all but impossible to investigate such claims independently.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/29/AR2010112903499.html?hpid=topnews

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Every bomb we drop and bullet we fire does more to harm our country than it does to protect it.

Time for change, time to end these fucking wars!