Minimum of 140 children killed, and minimum 920 civilians killed overall.

[MadHound]

Those are the number of innocents that the Obama killed under its drone program from January 2011 through April 2012, a little over one year. That number is, in all reality, probably much larger than that, but those are the numbers that can be confirmed in a new joint study conducted by the law schools of Stanford and New York universities.

This seriously contradicts claims by Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein in the opening remarks of CIA Director nominee John Brennan's confirmation hearing.

In fact, Feinstein went all in for the Obama administration, claiming that civilian deaths(and remember here, according to the Obama administration, all military age males in the strike zone are counted as combatants, which means most of these deaths are of women and children) are only in the single digits, max, for any given month.

Yet this new NYU/SU study finds that instead of single digits, we're looking at a median of 61 civilian deaths minimum. Further, the study details the mental, physical, social and economic toll of the US drone program in great detail. Upon an even quick perusal of this study it quickly becomes obvious that the Obama administration is conducting an ongoing, international crime against humanity, all in our name, all with our taxpayer dollars.

And yes, this administration's drone policy is illegal, not to mention immoral. The NYU/SU states that, "U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
Christof Heyns, have questioned whether “killings carried out in 2012 can be justified as
in response to [events] in 2001,” noting that “some states seem to want to invent new
laws to justify new practices.” This has prompted the UN Human Rights Council to open an investigation in the US drone program.

The NYU/SU study(remember, this was conducted by their law schools), finds that the US is, at the very least, on very shaky ground in regards to its drone program, not only in the area of international law, but also domestic law, AUMF included.

As far as those folks who are of the opinion that anybody close to those who are being targeted goes, I'm sorry, but we're talking about women and children here, who are most likely dependent upon those who are being targeted. Women and children.

Not only are we killing our enemies, however that is defined, but our allies as well. Is this any way to make friends and persuade people? All we are doing with these drone strikes is making more and more people angry at the US, a mistake that we will pay for, sooner or later, with an attack the size and scope of 911, or worse.

Now, not only are we killing our "enemies" but our own citizens as well, and once again, children are taking the brunt of the damage. One of the three US citizens killed by drone attacks was a sixteen year old boy, who was not a threat to the US, just a freshman at high school. In fact, as more and more details emerge, it is becoming that the other two US citizens that were targeted weren't an immediate and credible threat either.

Of course, the answer to whether or not such attacks on US citizens is Constitutional is obvious, they aren't. They are simply another power grab by this administration, much in the same tradition of the Bush regime, which shoved the unconstitutional practice of both pre-emptive war and extraordinary rendition, ie torture, down our collective throats. Furthermore, the legal memo detailing White House policy conveniently doesn't limit this power to assassinate US citizens to only when they are abroad, but leaves the door open for domestic assassination drones as well.

Thus, the question becomes whether or not we will stand for this illegal, immoral practice. If you can't support this madness(and who in their right mind or morality can), then I suggest that you contact your representatives in Congress and the White House. Further, I suggest you support the ACLU and other groups in their efforts to turn back this illegal, immoral policy. After all, the next drone assassination could be yours, especially if you participate in anti-war or Occupy actions, or other such movements. The combined force of the Patriot Act and the NDAA means that a terrorist is now essentially any person or group that this administration, or any administration deems to be a terrorist.

Oh, and for those who trust the Obama administration implicitly, ask yourself this hypothetical, even if the Obama administration is all wise and would never abuse this kind of power, do you really want this power to reside in Executive Branch the next time a 'Pug takes power.

The simple fact of the matter is that our drone policy is a mushrooming morass, one that is not just illegal, immoral and unconstitutional, but also one that is creating more and more enemies where we need all the friends we can get. It is time to end this drone policy before it is too late and while we still can. Otherwise the consequences, both at home and abroad, are too dire to even predict.