Thread: The President and his new Best Friend: The Drone

The President and his new Best Friend: The Drone

• 
• Heather Ginsberg
  Blogger, Townhall.com
  

Feb 23, 2013 12:45 PM EST


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So now that the president has realized what an effective practice using drones is, he has stepped it up and is now building a drone base in Niger. The new base will be used for surveillance missions in the latest efforts by the president to help the French in their efforts to battle Islamic militants in neighboring Mali. The U.S. has now deployed 100 troops to the West African nation of Niger.

In a letter to Congress on Friday, President Obama said the deployment would "provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."
The last 40 American troops in the deployment arrived in Niger on Feb. 20 with the consent of the government, Obama said.
A senior U.S. officer described the troops as a security unit that will protect crews flying and maintaining U.S. Air Force drones now operating from an airfield near the capital, Niamey. The force includes drone pilots, intelligence liaison officers and aircraft maintenance personnel, the officer said.
"We're basing drones there to help the French, and this deployment is the security element," the officer said.
He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the operation publicly.
French forces have been battling to push Islamic militants out of northern Mali in recent weeks in an effort to oust insurgents who seized local control after the civilian government collapsed last year.
Predator drones are already flying over Mali to assist French troops, who intervened in January and have driven back militants and Tuareg rebels, who had taken over three major cities and were threatening Mali's capital, Bamako.
The drones flying from Niger will be unarmed surveillance aircraft tracking suspected militants operating in the remote parts of northern Mali. The aircraft could also be used over other countries in the region, the officer said.
The Obama administration has not yet decided to establish a permanent drone base in Niger, the senior officer said. For the moment, the operation is considered a temporary mission to assist the French.
But some senior officers in the Pentagon's Africa Command, which oversees military operations on the continent, favor a permanent base to develop a better picture of the militant threat in West Africa, the officer said.
Among the groups the U.S. is worried about is Boko Haram, an Islamist extremist group in neighboring Nigeria.
Currently, the only permanent base in Africa from which drones operate is in Djibouti, thousands of miles to the east.
In addition to the militants in Mali — some with loose ties to Al Qaeda groups — extremists have taken refuge in the largely ungoverned desert areas of southern Libya and Algeria.
If the Obama administration decides to authorize a permanent base in Niger, it would probably be in Agadez, near northern Mali, the officer said, confirming a report in the New York Times.
Some senior military commanders, in arguing for a permanent base, say the militant threat in the region is growing and could eventually threaten the U.S. and its allies unless more aggressive action is taken.

So where will President Obama take us next? Now that he has found love in the drone program, be prepared to see drones a lot more in warfare and protecting the country and our allies.

The President and his new Best Friend: The Drone - Heather Ginsberg

Anyone impressed yet???

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Drone lobbyist makes shocking comment about 'indiscriminate killing' policy

Mikael Thalen
Activist Post

Last Thursday during a Washington State House Committee hearing over new drone legislation, shocking comments were made from a drone lobbyist in attendance.

H.B. 1771, a bill to put limits on how, when, where and why drones can be used within Washington state, passed its House Committee hearing yesterday 9-1, with many showing up to voice their support. The few in opposition also gave their comments and concerns on what they felt were too many rules and regulations for government drone use.

"You’re adding reporting requirements that you’re not adding on helicopters. You’re having to get permission that you’re not having to do with any other systems out there," said Paul Applewhite, board of directors member for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International that represents 80 companies within the Pacific Northwest.

The shocking moment came soon after when Applewhite commented in regards to a question from Rep. Sherry Appleton (D) regarding the backlash to drones.

"My opinion is that the way that we're currently using drones in warfare, we're moving away from indiscriminate killing to discriminate killing," said Applewhite, followed by gasps from the audience.


Appleton's comments could ring true in light of the reports of over 178 children dead overseas due to drone strikes. It was also recently reported that over 40% of drone casualties are innocents.

"I was stunned along with the rest of the people in the hearing when I heard the stunning admission from Mr. Applewhite that we had at one time practiced indiscriminate killing in this country. This is absolutely the reason why we cannot trust a government that condones at any time indiscriminate killing of any person, especially without due process," said State Senate hopeful, Travis Couture, who was in attendance.

In February of last year, President Obama signed a bill that will allow as many as 30,000 drones to be flown by anyone from police to the Department of Homeland Security, within the United States. Soon after, an Air Force intelligence brief was uncovered which states that if drones "accidentally" capture surveillance footage of Americans, the data can be stored and analyzed by the Pentagon for up to 90 days.

In light of the recently leaked Department of Justice white paper that outlines the supposed legality of drone strikes on U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism, the outcry over the U.S. drone policy has taken center stage.

Three American citizens have already been assassinated overseas by drones, including the 16-year-old Denver, Colo. native, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was not suspected of any terrorist activities. In fact, the Obama Administration has been repeatedly asked whether they believe they can assassinate U.S. citizens with drones on U.S. soil without charges, which they have refused to answer.

Applewhite also did mention his concern saying, "I'm also worried about one of these parked over the top of my house and being used for surveillance by an overzealous government, I think that is a great issue."

Washington state also made drone news recently after residents spoke out against, and ended, the Seattle Police Department's drone program.

The Virginia General Assembly also recently approved a moratorium on drone aircraft in the state, sending the legislation to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s desk. The Senate passed a similar bill 40-0, which advocates a ban on the use of drones except in cases such as missing person searches, for the next two years.

Here is the video clip:

Video at link below

This article first appeared at The Examiner

Mikael Thalen is a political activist and a self proclaimed history buff and current events junkie. He prides himself on being non partisan and standing up for fiscal responsibility and personal liberty in government.

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