PROTESTING DRONE WARFARE AT A DRONE MAKER'S HOME

By Debra Sweet

World Can't Wait joined a protest against drone warfare. Activists made a predator drone with an 8 foot wingspan, symbolizing those the US uses, at a cost of $13 million each, on people in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We were in Greenwich, CT, because Steven Loranger, CEO of ITT Corporation, lives there in a gated community.

The Bridgeport Post called us "peaceniks." Many of the locals were curious, some friendly, and at least one citizen driving an SUV threatened to run us over if we weren't out of Greenwich by 5:00 pm. I guess we hit a nerve, with 40 of us marching in determined fashion past mansions and Ferrari dealers.

In Vietnam days, there was an aspect when everywhere, students and veterans sought to "bring the war home." We had a few students, and a few veterans, among the 40 protesters. Standing at the corner of Bush Avenue (I kid you not) I had a chance to talk about the Obama administration's increasing use of drones. The best single piece on drones remains Jane Mayer's piece The Predator Drones in The New Yorker.

I think this is the kind of activity we should research and promote around the country. We've found that, very widely, people still don't have any idea what drones how, how they're used to kill from a long, "safe" distance. Thanks to Nick Mottern, WESPAC, Veterans for Peace, Peace Action, and the activists who came out.