Did you see the filifluster?


Dear Activist,

Our favorite tweet after our interventions at the CIA hearing yesterday was from Tom Curry of NBC: “@CODEPINK filifluster delayed the Senate vote on Brennan nomination.”

At the CIA confirmation hearing chaired by Senator Dianne Feinstein, John Brennan made a remarkable statement. He said that if a U.S. drone strike killed innocent people, “we need to acknowledge it publicly… in the interest of transparency.” So let's propose that Senator Feinstein start with two cases: 16-year-old U.S. citizen Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki, killed by a drone strike in Yemen, and 16-year-old Tariq Aziz, killed by a drone strike in Pakistan. She should ask Brennan why these two 16 year-olds were killed by drone strikes.

Let's hope a clarification of the cold-blooded murder of two 16-year-olds will lead to an investigation of the hundreds of drone casualties worldwide.

Yesterday, the CODEPINK team successfully
disrupted John Brennan's confirmation hearing so many times, demanding an end to civilian casualties, that Senator Feinstein halted the hearing, cleared the room and called for all “CODEPINK associates” to be evicted from the hearing. Eight peaceful protesters were arrested. Ironically, they—instead of the drone czar Brennan—were charged with “unlawful behavior.” Medea Benjamin explains what happened in this fantastic piece on Democracy Now.

We have been receiving thanks from people around the world who are elated to see Americans standing up for the rule of law. And now that we have the attention of the Senators and the media, let's seize the moment to demand that our government do something so basic to a democracy: adhere to the rule of law.

With open hearts,
Alli, Laura, Medea, Noor, Tighe, Toby, and the rest of CODEPINK National

P.S.- Check out the great segment Rachel Maddow did on CODEPINK yesterday, saying "You have to tip your hat to the CODEPINK folks just on operational grounds, they know how to get it done. God Bless Them!"