The Drones Quilts made an appearance at the Interfaith Conference On Drone Warfare, held January 23 - 25, 2015 at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ.
The event was sponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action.
If you would like to make a block for a drones quilt, or are interested in hosting the Drones Quilt Project exhibit, please contact Leah Bolger: leahbolger@comcast.net.
What should we do instead? What alternatives do we point to that help end or limit the use of drones?
What are some of the alternative practices to the use of lethal drones in stopping violence by non-state and state actors, with attention to prevention, defusing violence, and healing?
What can the NGO community do to encourage the U.S. Government to investigate and invest in these alternatives?
Moderator:
Catherine Osborn, Campaign Director, Shoulder to Shoulder
Speakers:
Antti Pentikainen, Executive Director of Finn Church Aid, Helsinki, Finland
Dr. David Cortright, Director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame Sami Catovic, Executive Director, New Brunswick Islamic Center Rev. Robert Moore, Executive Director, Peace Action Education
Jack Gilroy, Peace Activist, Broome County Peace Action
Interfaith Worship:
Rabbi Charles M. Feinberg, Adas Israel Congregation, Washington, DC Rev. Sandy Strauss, Pennsylvania Council of Churches Kavneet Singh, Secretary General, World Sikh Council - North America
And a Few Words From:
Rev. Peter E. Bauer, Minister, United Church of Christ
Does the use of lethal drones advance the U.S. war against the violence of non-state actors? How does the use of lethal drones compare in effectiveness with other measures being used to counter violence by non-state actors? Are U.S. drone strikes actually inciting more anti-American sentiment (blow-back) and consequently unintentionally encouraging more recruits for Al-Qaeda and other non-state actors? How do other nations view U.S. policy on the use of lethal drones? How does the UN view lethal drone use? Has U.S. drone policy hurt U.S. foreign policy in any way? What are the effects on civilians in areas where lethal drones are being used? What are the effects on the drone operators?
The CIA:
Currently, the CIA is engaged in the military operations of drone warfare as well as intelligence. Should military operations be removed from the CIA and what are the impediments to doing so?
War Zones:
International law strongly prohibits the use of force by one state in the territory of another, except during war or with the explicit consent of the other state. What exactly is a war zone, and what areas are non-combat zones in this modern era where active conflicts by state and non-state actors are found all around the world?
Moderator:
Elizabeth Beavers, Legislative Associate, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Speakers:
Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite, Professor of Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary Benjamin Friedman, Research Fellow in Defense and Homeland
Security Studies, Cato Institute
“Imminence”: In its February 2013 White Paper the Administration justifies the use of certain drone strikes as consistent with international laws of self-defense by stating that imminence “does not require ... clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future.” How does this attempted reinterpretation of “imminence” comport with the more traditional restrictive meaning of
the concept in the Just War framework? Is there legal support for this definition of “imminence”? Does redefinition lower the barrier to go to war?
Assassination: Under what conditions in war is the assassination of people on a targeted list legal? Moral? What criteria should be used to be put someone on the list and who determines who should be on the target list? What kind of checks and balances exist in vetting the list?
Killing U.S. Citizens: Four U.S. citizens have been killed by drone strikes, including non -combatants, far from any battlefield. Are these killings legal? Do they raise different legal issues than the killing of non-citizens? What are the criteria to determine whether Americans have actually joined in a fight against the United States? Should the United States government have the right to treat them as if they have given up their right to due process and if so, when and how should this be done? Who makes that decision (a court, the Administration, Congress)?
Civilian Casualties: Drones may kill fewer civilians than other weapons. Does that make them more moral than other weapons? How should governments respond to civilian casualties? Should they pay reparations to the families of those killed or wounded by drones?
Moderator:
Dr. Sarah Sayeed, Interfaith Center of New York
Speakers:
Mary Ellen O’Connell, Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution, University of Notre Dame Law School
Marjorie Cohn, Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law; former President of the National Lawyers Guild, San Diego, CA
Pardiss Kebriaei, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York
Introduction by Rev. Richard Killmer, Project Director, Interfaith Conference On Drone Warfare
Moderated by Imam Sohaib Sultan, Muslim Chaplain, Princeton University
Rev. Dr. George Hunsinger, Professor of Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary:
What do the criteria of the Just War tradition in Judaism, Christianity and Islam say about the use of lethal drones: discrimination, protection of civilians, legitimate authority, probability of success, proportionality, imminence and last resort?
Rev. Susan Hayward, United States Institute of Peace:
How do the criteria and practices of JustPeace help in analyzing drone warfare? The criteria are just cause, right intention, participatory process, right relationship, reconciliation, restoration, and sustainability.
Rev. Isaac Villegas, Pastor, Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship:
What are the insightsof pacifist religious traditions on this issue?
Robert Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
What are the insights of Jewish theology on the issue of drone warfare?
