Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan have children too, and they are being killed by killer American drones

The death of a child — any child — is always painful and shocking. The awful gassing of children in Syria breaks the heart and tortures the soul. We all should and must speak up about this outrage.

But the deaths of 178 Pakistani children by American drones must also be acknowledged. We must put an end to killing children in the name of security.

As National Security Advisor Susan Rice has said, “Nations cannot unleash the world’s most horrific weapons against innocent civilians, especially children.” She was talking about chemical weapons, but “death by drone” is equally horrific.

Take one look at the photos of children killed by our drones, provided to me by Noor Beham when I made a trip to Pakistan last year, for graphic confirmation.

According to U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, “These weapons kill in the most gruesome possible way. They kill indiscriminately. They are incapable of distinguishing between a child and a rebel.” Again, the quote refers to chemical weapons, but replace “rebel” with “militant” and she could be talking about drones. Whether Syrian or Pakistani, children should not be victims of war.

As the administration calls attention to the terrible killing of children in Syria, I call upon them to acknowledge the killing of children by US drones, and to immediately halt our drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan.