There were between 46 and 52 drone strikes under the [George W.] Bush administration. And now there are over 400 - that's not counting Afghanistan. So this has been tremendously increased under the [Barack] Obama administration.
Medea Benjamin[Subjects of the targeted killings] are supposed to be high-level Al Qaeda operatives that pose an imminent threat to the U.S. and American personnel and citizens. There's supposed to be no way to capture them. The "kill list" is calculated in the "terror Tuesdays" at the White House every week, where the President and his advisors - including CIA - "nominate" people to be on the kill list.
Medea BenjaminIt's not as "cheap" as it's put out to be. One predator drone in one day of activity supposedly needs 168 people... to carry out the day's operations... They crash a lot. So when you calculate their costs, consider that the Air Force has said about a third of their drones have crashed.
Medea BenjaminI wonder if you are ashamed of calling a Democratically elected government a fascist government.
Medea BenjaminI wouldn't characterize anybody who fought in Vietnam as a war hero. In 23 bombing sorties, there must have been civilians that were killed and there's no heroism to that.
Medea BenjaminIt hit me very early on that something was terribly wrong, that I would see silos full of food and supermarkets full of food, and kids starving. ... In Fair Trade, we see ourselves as this infinitesimal part of the world economy. But somebody's got to come up with an alternative model that says children eating is No. 1.
Medea Benjamin