Write a Letter to the Editor denouncing drone strikes and the civilian casualties

Here's an example of how you can use the letter to the editor draft below and make it your own!
(220 words) To the New York Times editor:
Since 2006, pilotless drone attacks killed approximately 14 Al Qaeda leaders but also killed at least 700 civilians, a 50:1 ratio of innocent victims to targeted enemies. So in articles like ''Airstrikes Kill 43 Militants and Wound Taliban Chief '' (world, July 8), we get facts about militants killed, but no mention of civilian injuries or deaths. With quotes from Qamar Zaman Kaira, Pakistan’s information minister, that the drone attacks "are counterproductive,” and that they "don’t produce the desired results,” we have to ask ourselves what is really happening when drones attack.

If Pakistani officials are saying that they don't produce desired results and the headline makes claim of militant deaths and injuries, then where is the dissatisfaction? Where else can it be besides in the under-reported civilian casualties, the distrust engendered by these attacks and the resulting destabilization in the region?

David Kilcullen, a former top adviser to U.S. Army General David Petraeus, recently testified to the House Armed Services Committee that drone attacks take too many civilian lives. Our own leaders are saying it, Pakistani leaders are saying it--so why are we still using them and are they still worth it? (Hint, answer is no.)

To truly help the Pakistani people, the administration could end its use of drones and invest in humanitarian and economic aid efforts.

Sincerely,
Lady Liberty
New York, NY
ladyliberty@email.com
212.555.5555

As the media shines its spotlight on the death of one celebrity this week, so many other important losses go unreported—particularly those civilians killed by unmanned US drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is up to us to tell the truth about these drone strikes and the resulting destabilization of the region. We need to BE THE MEDIA and raise awareness about these inhumane, unjust military practices, funded by our taxes.

Send your letter in three easy steps:
Select a paper in your zip region (if you know there is a recent article about this issue, you can cite it in your letter)
Compose your letter (we supply a draft below--feel free to add to it or craft your own!)
Click submit!

The best Letters to the Editor will come from the heart and include your own voice and sentiments. We have provided the template below to help you get started but feel free to add your own thoughts to it (though you will want to keep it simple and in the 250 word range). You can also cite an article to which you are responding, if applicable. Take a look at a Letter to the Editor in your local paper to see how other published letters have done it!

If you wish to include the specific amount of money your city or state is paying for the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, and what you could be getting instead (teachers, scholarships, healthcare, housing, public music and arts, etc.), click here to get the stats from National Priorities.

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Step 2 - Write your message

Subject:

Your Letter:

President Obama must work to end the use of drones, a weapon that kills far too many civilians, fuels the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and engenders distrust in the US's ability to bring stability to the region. 
 
Pilotless drones, operated by Americans by remote control thousands of miles away safe in the Nevada desert, are not only inhumane but largely inefficient -- the number of militants killed is unjustly outweighed by civilians killed.  David Kilcullen, a former top adviser to U.S. Army General David Petraeus, recently testified to the House Armed Services Committee that drone attacks take too many civilian lives. Since 2006, drone attacks killed 14 Al Qaeda leaders but also killed about 700 civilians, a 50:1 ratio of innocent victims to targeted enemies.  
 
No surprise then that drone attacks further alienate and anger the Pakistani population against the U.S. efforts, fuel Al Qaeda and the Taliban and prompt further distrust in their own government's actions. In fact, a recent poll on WorldPublicOpinion.org shows that 82 percent of Pakistanis consider the U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan unjustified, 69 percent have an unfavorable view of the U.S. government.

Many Pakistani politicians believe the Pakistani government should coordinate any drone attacks, not the U.S., including President Asif Ali Zardari. Many opposition politicians condemn any drone attacks at all. A Pakistani government official recently stated that “drone attacks are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and must be stopped. We are in regular contact with the US and our concerns over recent strikes have been put across strongly." 
 
To truly help the Pakistani people, the Obama administration must end its use of drones and invest in humanitarian and economic aid efforts.

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