Anti-US protests in Germany

A weeklong protest against the US drone program drew over 5,000 to Ramstein, most important American air base in Europe.

Taking up every seat and windowsill, the crowd intently as each speaker outlines how the US government is leading an 'illegal war" in their backyard. The city is Kaiserslautern, the Air Force base in question is Ramstein and the war is that waged by US's drone operations, which they say violate German law.

Already controversial for its extrajudicial killing of several thousand suspects on foreign soil, revelations that Ramstein played a vital role in the US's drone program sparked a frenzy among German politicians and peace activists in 2013.

Upon parliamentary inquiry, the German government said it had no information about the program. Only later did Angela Merkel's government confirm that no drones were being directed or flown from US's most important air base in Europe - which is, incidentally, also the headquarters for NATO's Air and Space program (AIRCOM).

The area counts roughly 22,000 military and Department of Defense personnel in total. With family members, it's 54,000, the largest concentration of US citizens outside of the US.