A little of what he said is reproduced below:
“I am here today to talk about the human costs and consequences of targeted killing by the United States…
My life changed forever in the 9th grade when I was awarded a scholarship from the US State Department. The scholarship gave me an opportunity to study English for one year at Amideast, the American English Center in Yemen… I was later awarded a State Department scholarship to the Youth and Exchange Study program, which aims to build peace and understanding between the American people and people in Muslim countries.
That scholarship allowed me to spend a year living with an American family and attending an American high school. The year I spent at Rosamond High School in Rosamond, California was one of the richest and best years of my life…
Most of my work with international journalists has been in the southern provinces of Abyan, Aden, Al-dhalea and Lahj, three of the areas where the United States has focused its so-called ‘war on terror.’
Just six days ago, this so-called war came straight to my village. As I was thinking about my testimony and preparing to travel to the United States to participate in this hearing, I learned that a missile from a US drone had struck the village where I was raised.
For almost all of the people in Wessab, I’m the only person with any connection to the United States. They called and texted me that night with questions that I could not answer: Why was the United States terrifying them with these drones? Why was the United States trying to kill a person with a missile when everyone knows where he is and he could have been easily arrested?…
In the past, most of Wessab’s villagers knew little about the United States. My stories about my experiences in America, my American friends, and the American values that I saw for myself helped the villagers I talked to understand the America that I know and love. Now, however, when they think of America they think of the terror they feel from the drones that hover over their heads ready to fire missiles at any time.
Instead of first experiencing America through a school or a hospital, most people in Wessab first experienced America through the terror of a drone strike. WHAT RADICALS HAD PREVIOUSLY FAILED TO ACHIEVE IN MY VILLAGE, ONE DRONE STRIKE ACCOMPLISHED IN AN INSTANT: THERE IS NOW AN INTENSE ANGER AND GROWING HATRED OF AMERICA…
I have to say that the drone strikes and the targeted killing program have made my passion and mission in support of America almost impossible in Yemen. In some areas of Yemen, the anger against America that results from the strikes makes it dangerous for me to even acknowledge having visited America, much less testify how much my life changed thanks to the State Department scholarships. It’s sometimes too dangerous to even admit that I have American friends.”
'Growing hatred of America' is what those whom the Americans vote for are after. 'Perpetual war for perpetual peace,' you see. If the Great Satan can keep Americans pinned down with fear of terrorist attack, they can justify the ever-more controlling and invasive 'homeland security' measures they impose.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the name of the game.
The REAL one.
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