| For Immediate Release: December 9th, 2009 |  |
CODEPINK Activists to Protest Drone Conference Calling for an End to Drone Strikes and Afghanistan War Contact information: (Albuquerque, NM) New Mexico State University will hold its eleventh Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) conference at the Tamaya Hyatt Regency 1300 Tuyuna Trail in Santa Ana Pueblo with members of Air Force intelligence, manufacturers of the Predator and Reaper drones and Department of Defense weapons purchasers. The Predator and Reaper "hunter-killer" unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly called drones, scout over the Pakistan and Afghanistan border and launch Hellfire missiles into the region often missing their intended targets, resulting in the deaths of many innocent people including children. Most problematic are attacks in regions where coalition forces don't even go and most of the dead are civilians. CODEPINK activists will hold a creative action on Wednesday December 9th to call for an end to drone strikes and the war in Afghanistan. "The drones are sophisticated and attractive weapons of convenience for the US military and CIA to wage a war in Pakistan and Afghanistan," states Nancy Mancias of CODEPINK. "With the White House giving the CIA authorization to launch its own deadly drone program in Pakistan, they will be able to say what they want and do what they want, and no one will be held accountable." |
