The Death Toll Continues to Climb

Most people seem to have little objection to the way drones are being used by the United States military. I believe this is because most of the people who have been killed by drones have been brown people not from around here. However the body country of American citizens isn’t zero. Until today it was believed that three American citizens were executed by drones but now we know there have been at least four American citizens executed by drones:

Four American citizens have been killed in counter-terrorism drone strikes since 2009, the Obama administration acknowledged for the first time Wednesday.

Attorney General Eric Holder disclosed the previously classified information in a letter to a top senator that also included the names of those killed and the revelation that only one was directly targeted in the strikes that began in 2009. He did not specifically call them drone strikes – rather, he referred to “counterterrorism operations” – but most of the individuals he mentioned are known to have died in drone strikes.

Even if you’re OK with brown people not from around here being killed without due process the knowledge of people from your country being executed in such a manner should make you consider how few protections you have from your government. So long as somebody within the state can claim you’re a terrorist your name can be added to kill list. From there you can be executed without a trail.

Welcome to the land of the free.