Drone Strikes Are More Detrimental To America's Reputation Than Torture

Amid all the flap over Democrat Senator Feinstein's release of the so-called "Torture Report", many have questioned why she, President Obama, and other Democrats seem to think that there is no "moral equivalency" between Obama's use of drones and George Bush's use of enhanced interrogation techniques. 

But, understand this.  Unlike Bush's so-called torture techniques -- which only affected a few dozen highly-valued captive terrorists -- two separate studies have shown that Obama's use of drones has resulted in thousands of civilian causalities.  Casualties not limited to men but, also, women and children.  While the lucky ones (I guess) are the civilians that were killed, many others have been  maimed or disfigured for life.  Other survivors are known to have suffered severe psychological trauma equivalent to PTSD. If that, in itself, isn't torture, I don't know what is.

Yet, even so, the White House claims that the drone strikes are precision/surgical strikes and that all care is given to protect civilians.  But, the world thinks differently as this chart from a 2014 Pew Research report shows:

So, if Senator Feinstein and President Obama think that releasing the torture report shows that we are taking the high ground by "admitting our mistakes" then, why aren't we also taking the high ground by admitting that drone strikes kill innocent civilians?   After all, the "torture" (enhanced interrogation) was known to the world almost a decade ago, and right now, drone strikes continue and are even being ramped up because of our fight with ISIS in Syria and Iraq.  As such, the number of civilian deaths and injuries just keep piling up.  Perhaps, it will take another president, following Obama's exit from office, to admit that drone strikes were moral mistakes in a similar attempt at regaining s lost trust in this country around the world.

References:

Video: Henry to Earnest: How Can You [Obama] Claim 'Moral Authority' On Drone Strikes:  http://insider.foxnews.com/2014/12/10/henry-earnest-how-can-you-claim-moral-authority-while-killing-innocents-drones

2012 Study: Drone strikes kill, maim and traumatize too many civilians, U.S. study says: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/25/world/asia/pakistan-us-drone-strikes/

2013 Study: US drone strikes more likely to kill civilians than US jet fire: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/study-us-drone-strikes-more-likely-kill-civilians-us-jet-v19254842

Death toll of Obama’s Drone Campaign 5 Years Later: 2,400: http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/obamas-campaign-later.html

Pew Poll: Global Opposition to U.S. Surveillance and Drones: http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/07/14/global-opposition-to-u-s-surveillance-and-drones-but-limited-harm-to-americas-image/

Obama on CIA torture report: "When we make mistakes, we admit them":  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-on-cia-torture-report-when-we-make-mistakes-we-admit-them/

US airstrikes in Syria, Iraq could lead to high civilian casualties: http://rt.com/news/192220-isis-airstrikes-civilians-us/

Obama Admin. Caught in a Lie On The XMas Day Bomber?

A couple of weeks ago, Robert Gibbs, the President's Press Secretary, said that the FBI learned all that they needed to learn about the underwear bomber's activities in the first 50 minutes of interviewing him on Christmas Day. This was apparently after Abdulmutallab was read his Miranda Rights and before he lawyered-up and was advised to stop talking.

Then, last week, we were advised by Obama's security people that Abdulmutallab started talking again and they are now getting information based on the FBI's advanced interrogation technique of using Abdulmutallab's parents to convince him to talk (I guess using the typical Mommy/Daddy threat for him to either start talking or you'll be grounded and you'll go to straight to bed without dessert). Obviously, this interrogation technique is better than any waterboarding!

So, what is it? Did Obama's people get all the information they needed on Christmas day? Or, as we are being told now, are we getting the needed information because Mommy and Daddy are intervening on our behalf? Certainly, if the FBI got all that they needed on Christmas, they didn't need to extract anymore information. And, they certainly wouldn't have needed Mommy and Daddy's help. Right?

This thing smells all over the place; yet, the mainstream media seems to be totally clueless. Obviously, the Obama Administration thinks they can feed the American people a bunch of B.S. and they'll just completely fall for it. Even when they are being caught in an obvious lie.

One more thing. If the Advance Mommy/Daddy Interrogation Technique works so well why don't we make it part of the Army Field Manual under the chapter on battlefield interrogations. Are we going to use it on Osama Bin Laden once we've captured him? In fact, I can just hear Osama Bin Laden now: "No! No! Please, don't! Not my Mommy and Daddy!"

Just give me a break! This people are amateurs!