Kevin_Kennedy
Defend Liberty
- Aug 27, 2008
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Whenever I read comments by politicians defending the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Predator and Reaper program aka drones I wish I could ask them a few questions. I'd start with: "How many women and children have you seen incinerated by a Hellfire missile?" And: "How many men have you seen crawl across a field, trying to make it to the nearest compound for help while bleeding out from severed legs?" Or even more pointedly: "How many soldiers have you seen die on the side of a road in Afghanistan because our ever-so-accurate UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were unable to detect an IED [improvised explosive device] that awaited their convoy?"
Few of these politicians who so brazenly proclaim the benefits of drones have a real clue of what actually goes on. I, on the other hand, have seen these awful sights first hand.
I knew the names of some of the young soldiers I saw bleed to death on the side of a road. I watched dozens of military-aged males die in Afghanistan, in empty fields, along riversides, and some right outside the compound where their family was waiting for them to return home from the mosque.
I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on | Heather Linebaugh | Comment is free | theguardian.com
Interesting take from an actual drone pilot. Turns out they're not as precise as the government would have us believe, as if there was any doubt, and they don't simply target militants since they sometimes have no idea who they're targeting at all. Again, as if there was any doubt.