A US drone firing missiles into a village in northern Pakistan killed at least 19 people over the weekend. The targets were militants, said the US military. The victims included six dead children, said a local tribal elder.
"Suspected US drone kills Suspected Taliban Commander." That's becoming the stuff of very suspect news stories. The reporting is so weak there's almost nothing confirmed except that the killer operator is far away in front of a computer screen.
Suspected killing of suspected people covered by unsuspicious media? It would be sci-fi if it weren't so here-now, and it's only going to get more so.
The Democratic administration just made a big deal of cutting the cumbersome F-22 fighter jet. "We don't need it any more," said the President. What he didn’t say is that the defense department is seeking $3.5 billion for unmanned aerial vehicles a.k.a. "drones." Funding is expected to increase to $55 billion by 2020. The air force is currently training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots.
Drones have been around since the US-led NATO war on the former Yugoslavia. Since '06, drones have launched hundred of missiles along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border killing as many as 700 civilians according to Pakistani officials.
Forbes magazine's “king of the armed drone makers” is a little known company called General Atomics whose founder James Neal Blue came up with the drone as a way of defeating Soviet-backed Sandinistas by blowing up oil pipelines in Nicaragua. He’s a fervent anti-communist and quite possibly the next Erik Prince -- only his mercenaries aren't Blackwater's flesh and blood killers, but conveniently bloodless machines.
General Atomics is small by defense industry standards, but it has a lot of friends in Washington. Between 2000 and 2005, GA was the top corporate sponsor of privately funded congressional travel. So perhaps it's no surprise, there’s little resistance to more drones in the US arsenal.
Drones are not cheap -- between $10 million and $12 million apiece per GA "Reaper." Their success rate is widely disputed. They kill civilians and even General David Petraeus admits, they make people hate us. But cynical political calculus is on General Atomics' side.
President Obama has a problem. Every American military commander wants more troops, but resistance among foot soldiers is growing and maybe, someday - someday - the president's anti-war base will make itself heard.
How to heed the commanders and quiet the critics simultaneously? Welcome to the super drone bonanza. The pilotless drone is the military's version of cash for very clunky policy.
The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GritLaura on Twitter.com.
Hey can you mention this on Ed’s? Really liked how you challenged him to have personal stories on about health care.
maybe he would be willing do a story about how tough it must be for the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan to see Obama bringing the ” greeting of Peace” to those in these countries in the shape of killing drones and not doves
By Leen on August 25th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Drones are the way to go after terrorist, no matter where they hide. How quickly people forget the mass killings of innocent people when the Taliban over ran the major cities. Women by the masses were murdered in public. Is this what you anti-war people want a return to. The whole area operates by criminal activity, because that’s all they know. There is no industry in the area, not even good farming. A woman would be nuts to stay in the area, when there are better places for her to stay like in the major cities. Women under Islamic rule are treated no different than live stock.
If we are going to win over the people. it has to start by exposing Islam for what it is. Just like was done to communism in Russia. Remember radio free Europe?
By yourwrong on August 26th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Great job Laura- you’re the best! i love the way you talk- you could not imagine how much i been gnashing my teeth at these reports- 8 years now right? about bombing “suspected” al qaeda, “suspected’ Taliban. And of course they hit women and children in their little mud huts- and THEN say “oh well- we hit our intended target. we were acting on good intelligence” blah bah.high value targets.
actually i remember a story where they bombed a Taliban training camp. coordinates supplied by the CIA. how did they know? cause they built the camp! only it had been abandoned ten years ago. nobody but civilians living there now. They said it was “good intelligence that time too”
By gritona on August 27th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Thanks all. I bet I could get this onto Ed one way or another. We’ll see. The drone story’s been with us for a while but it’s about to heat up and while the idea of targeted killing by remote may seem neat and tidy to some, drone technology is neither perfectly targeted, nor remote; there’s another arms race brewing and it’s bound to come back to haunt us. Reasonably enough, now Pakistan want their own. Time to dig down.
By Laura Flanders on August 27th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
“Right-Wing Mad Militarist” … Are we talking about Obama or this Blue character?
By Lloyd on August 30th, 2009 at 12:15 pm