John S. Uebersax PhD 83 Laguna Place Paso Robles, California 93446 United States (805) 712-3145 www.john-uebersax.com jsuebersax@gmail.

com

Friday, 13 May 2011 The Honorable Barbara Boxer United States Senate 112 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-0505 Subject: Escalation of Pakistan drone strikes Dear Senator Boxer: On Friday, May 13, another US drone strike occurred in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan, reportedly killing several "suspected militants". In addition to being inhumane and illegal under international law, these strikes are covert not acknowledged by the Department of Defense or the US government, a fact which raises additional problems. For one, neither the American public nor elected officials know the details. We don't know, for example, how many civilians are killed (estimated to be in the dozens or hundreds) or whether the targets are Taliban fighters or al Qaeda terrorists. It is also impossible for the US to apologize or supply compensation for accidental civilian casualties of the raids. From a military standpoint, there is no obvious reason why these strikes should be unacknowledged after the fact. Please let me therefore suggest that you request the DoD and/or CIA to brief your office on the methods and protocols they use to choose targets for the Pakistan strikes and to protect civilians. Should they decline, claiming the need for secrecy, that would only supply additional evidence of the incompatibility of covert warfare with a democratic society. Respectfully yours,

John S. Uebersax