Drones

Pentagon Capitalism And Silicon Valley: Google’s Drone War Project Shows Big Data’s Military Roots

April 9, 2018 By Elliott Gabriel, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Capitalism, Drones, Google, Military, Pentagon

SAN FRANCISCO (Analysis) – Google — the advertising and search engine monolith that once touted its official commitment, “Don’t be evil” — has thrown its full weight behind the U.S. military-industrial complex’s fast-advancing unmanned drone program – and more than three thousand of its employees will have none of it. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, over 3,100 employees invoked the now-discarded slogan in an appeal demanding that the company not allow its artificial intelligence technology to be used to improve the targeting capabilities of the United States’ deadly drone fleet. Google’s Project Maven is an AI surveillance engine that uses footage captured by the U.S. Armed Forces’ unmanned aerial vehicles to detect and track objects such as vehicles, while combing through, organizing, and feeding the processed data to the Pentagon.

Citing ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Motto, 3,000+ Google Employees Demand Company End Work On Pentagon Drone Project

April 5, 2018 By Julia Conley, Commondreams.org Resist! Drones, Google, Pentagon, Technology

"By entering into this contract, Google will join the ranks of companies like Palantir, Raytheon, and General Dynamics." More than 3,000 Google employees have signed a letter that's circulating in the company demanding that the tech giant end its involvement in Project Maven, a Pentagon program that could be used to develop drone technology. The project, the workers argue, runs counter to the company's stated mission and motto. "By entering into this contract, Google will join the ranks of companies like Palantir, Raytheon, and General Dynamics," wrote the employees, who include senior engineers. "The argument that other firms, like Microsoft and Amazon, are also participating doesn't make this any less risky for Google. Google's unique history, its motto 'Don’t Be Evil,' and its direct reach into the lives of billions of users set it apart."

Trump’s Drone Kill Rate 80 Times Greater Than Under Bush

February 6, 2018 By Whitney Webb, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Drones, Trump Administration, US Imperialism

During the 2016 election, Donald Trump – quite successfully – managed to convince a sizable portion of the electorate that he would take a much more anti-interventionist stance, in terms of U.S. military entanglements abroad, than would his contender Hillary Clinton. Yet, throughout his first year as president, such differences have been few and far between. In particular, it has been Trump’s dangerous expansion of the drone war that has authoritatively destroyed any illusion that Trump would genuinely put “America first” — and put an end to dangerous military operations abroad that only serve to exacerbate the horrendously bungled War on Terror. For instance, after gutting the already lax regulations on drone strikes and giving the CIA free rein to kill whomever they choose...

Time To Call Anew For Disarming Drones

January 9, 2018 Staff, Knowdrones.com Resist! Drones, History

Those of us who have been advocating for an end to drone attacks and the disarming of drones have “ancestors” in those who, in 1899, persuaded The Hague Convention to adopt a five-year ban on dropping bombs from hot air balloons and “other new methods of similar nature”, like airplanes. Unfortunately, WW I intervened in a process that was intended to extend the ban through successive peace conferences. This, along with the wonder at the devastation made possible by bombing, killed the dream of stopping aerial attacks. Imagine what a different world we would have if the ban had held. Now we find ourselves at another historic moment. There is a chance that German politicians may take a position against arming drones, expanding on the decision last year by key German parliamentarians to reject a drone deal with Israel because the drones in question were built to carry weapons as well as having surveillance capability.

Flexible Borders, Your Rights & Drones And Public Broadband

December 24, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, occupy.com/actout Resistance Report Border, Drones, Municipal Networks, Net Neutrality

This week on Act Out! we're talking borders and barriers. First up, did you know that the U.S constitution has a different border zone than the official border map of the U.S.? And what does that have to do with drones in a small town in Maine? Next up, make some noise between barriers this New Years and here's how the U.S now extends to 75% of the world's nations. Finally, following last week's Net Neutrality decision, you may be feeling down – but here's a pick me up that gives YOU the power to access the internet – no telecoms allowed.

Disturbing Trend Of Police Wanting Drones For Routine Infractions

December 12, 2017 Nicholas West, activistpost.com Educate! Drones, Militarized police, Police, Police State

After lulling the public into believing that using drones in the U.S. would be confined to border patrol or for counter-terrorism in the event of an imminent threat, we are beginning to see police calling for far wider implementation of drone surveillance. I’ve reported several times about the years-long battle in Los Angeles over the use of police drones. The plan resulted in severe pushback from civil liberties groups such as the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition and eventually resulted in an agreement to in fact limit their use to extreme threats and never for surveillance. More recently, Connecticut went much further with a new plan for integrating drones into their fusion center matrix of camera surveillance that would also utilize citizen cooperation into a far-reaching local spy network. Most troubling was the list of “quality-of-life-issues” that included “illegal dumping, ATVs and dirt bikes, motor vehicle violations, narcotics markets, car break-ins and larcenies.” All of which might spark tracking and pursuit by police drone. In a typical step-by-step movement of the Overton window, it’s Brunswick, Maine that would like to usher in a new level of acceptance of an even greater degree of intrusion.

LAPD Commission Approves Drone Pilot Program Amid Protest

October 19, 2017 Wes Woods and Brenda Gazzar, www.dailynews.com Resist! Drones, LAPD, Police, Protests

By Wes Woods and Brenda Gazzar for Los Angeles Daily News - The civilian Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday approved a one-year pilot program for the use of drones by police in certain situations, despite significant concerns voiced by the public. The program was approved by a 3-1 vote after commissioners considered guidelines and took public comment. Steve Soboroff, president of the commission, said before his vote the issue wasn’t about drones. “The issue is a universal distrust and categorical distrust of the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department,” said Soboroff, shouting above the crowd. “And I have a general trust and respect for the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department, and I will vote for this policy.” Soboroff’s words came after commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill said she was opposed to the “difficult” issue. “I am not satisfied that this department has done what it should do and needs to do in order to build the trust that is required to support the implementation of this technology,” McClain-Hill said. Meanwhile, commissioner Shane Murphy Goldsmith did not attend the meeting for reasons unclear. Many in attendance voiced their opposition to the program, and loud chants of “Shame on you!” broke out following the decision while four people were detained and issued citations. Afterward, some people in the audience briefly blocked Main Street and 1st Street outside of the meeting to protest of the decision.

Rich Man’s War; Poor People’s Blood

September 28, 2017 Ed Kinane and Judy Bello, www.upstatedroneaction.org Resist! Drones, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

By Ed Kinane and Judy Bello for Upstated Drone Action - Monday, 25 September 2017 at 9 AM, 7 members of the grassroots group Upstate Drone Action once again were arrested as they delivered a citizen’s war crime indictment to the chain of command at Hancock Air Force Base. Upstate Drone Action also placed a huge dollar sign [$] dripping with “blood” in the main entrance way to the base. The six-foot-high dollar sign dramatizes what the group believes determines the many overseas wars the Pentagon/CIA engages in: corporate greed. Hancock AFB -- on East Molloy Rd, town of DeWitt, County of Onondaga, State of New York, just north of Syracuse – hosts the 174th Attack [sic] Wing of the NY National Guard. The 174th is one of two Reaper drone Attack Wings in NYS. Piloted from Hancock, the MQ9 Reaper drone is an unmanned, satellite-directed assassin flown over Afghanistan. CIA also uses such airborne robots for its clandestine, illegal, lethal missions over Northwest Pakistan and other majority-Islamic nations and oil lands. According to “LIVING UNDER DRONES: Death, Injury and Trauma to civilians from US Practices in Pakistan,” published by Stanford University and New York University Law Schools, such missions are responsible for the deaths of many hundreds of noncombatants, including women and children, in that region.

US Expands Global Drone War To Philippines

August 10, 2017 Jason Ditz, www.news.antiwar.com Educate! Drones, Phillipines, US Imperialism

By Jason Ditz for Anti-War - Pentagon officials say a discussion is ongoing about the possibility of granting US forces in the Philippine authority to conduct airstrikes against the nation’s ISIS affiliate, and that the announcement and naming of the new operation could happen within the next 24 hours. ISIS affiliates have been active in the southern Philippines in recent months, seizing the city of Marawi and leading to a protracted battle with the Philippine military, which the US has been participating in in a limited role. The US is always keen for deeper military involvement in the Philippines, especially as President Duterte was until very recently talking about his interest in getting the US military out of his country entirely. This could be just the pretext to get the US dug in even deeper. Philippines military officials were quick to deny the reports, saying that the Pentagon hadn’t spoken to them about it at all. While that hardly disproves the US discussions, they did note the agreement with the US would only allow such airstrikes in the case of a foreign invasion. Duterte had been courting ties with Russia and China, but now seems to be committed to the US, greeting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by declaring himself to be America’s “humble friend in Southeast Asia.”

4 Arrested Protesting Drones At Iowa Air National Guard

July 4, 2017 Charly Haley, www.desmoinesregister.com Resist! Drones, Iowa, National Guard, Protests

By Charly Haley for The Des Moines Register - The Des Moines Fire Department had to cut the four protesters from their concrete barriers, said Brian O'Keefe, a spokesman for the department. Firefighters gave the protesters facemasks and other protection from debris as the concrete was being cut, he said. An organizer for the group of about 20 protesters is Frank Cordaro, a former Catholic priest affiliated with the Catholic Worker House. Ultimately, Cordaro wants the Air Guard base to stop flying military drones, which he believes are killing innocent women and children overseas. "We're asking for attention to a moral issue that's not being addressed," he said. Cordaro, 66, has been protesting at the base with a small group regularly since May and has previously been arrested there for trespassing. Uniformed Air Guard personnel standing near the protest declined to comment. Iowa National Guard spokesman Col. Greg Hapgood said in a statement Tuesday that Guard members "serve proudly to uphold the free expression rights" of protesters, but added that contacting U.S. senators and representatives would be more effective in this case.

Killer Drones And The Militarization Of U.S. Foreign Policy

June 19, 2017 Ann Wright, www.afsa.org Educate! Drones, Militarization, US Foreign Policy, US Imperialism

By Ann Wright for AFSA - The militarization of U.S. foreign policy certainly didn’t start with President Donald J. Trump; in fact, it goes back several decades. However, if Trump’s first 100 days in office are any indication, he has no intention of slowing down the trend. During a single week in April, the Trump administration fired 59 Tomahawk missiles into a Syrian airfield, and dropped the largest bomb in the U.S. arsenal on suspected ISIS tunnels in Afghanistan. This 21,600-pound incendiary percussion device that had never been used in combat—the Massive Ordinance Air Blast or MOAB, colloquially known as the “Mother of All Bombs”—was used in the Achin district of Afghanistan, where Special Forces Staff Sergeant Mark De Alencar had been killed a week earlier. (The bomb was tested only twice, at Elgin Air Base, Florida, in 2003.) To underscore the new administration’s preference for force over diplomacy, the decision to experiment with the explosive power of the mega-bomb was taken unilaterally by General John Nicholson, the commanding general of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In praising that decision, Pres. Trump declared that he had given “total authorization” to the U.S. military to conduct whatever missions they wanted, anywhere in the world—which presumably means without consulting the interagency national security committee.

Our National Bird: The Medium Is The Message

June 8, 2017 Dave Foster, www.original.antiwar.com Educate! Drones, US Imperialism

By Dave Foster for Anti-War - Sonia Kennebeck’s film National Bird illuminates the tragic personal aspect of America’s drone wars. The film explores the aftermath of drone strikes from the personal experiences of several people, some of whom were on the receiving end and others involved with targeting and weapon delivery. The tragedy of the survivors and victims’ families are visceral and obvious. National Bird also gets up close and personal to what may have been less obvious to the audience prior to the film, namely the haunting psychic turmoil of some of the U.S. service members involved in the drone operations. While these latter stories are a compelling compliment to those of the victims, the inquiring public and policy makers do not require inside information on the drone program’s targeting deliberations and trigger-pulling decisions. A simple thought experiment is all that is needed to clearly show why our armed drone program is a moral failure. Supporters of America’s use of armed drones in counterterrorism operations typically point to the program’s advantages of a comparatively light footprint of US forces on foreign soil, the accuracy of weapons delivery verses that for manned aircraft, and to the reportedly strict vetting process for targeting.

Trump’s First One Hundred Days Of War Crimes

May 21, 2017 Charles Pierson, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Drones, Syria, Trump, Wars and Militarism

By Charles Pierson for Counter Punch. President Donald J. Trump closed out his first hundred days in office on April 29. Not marked by any notable achievements, Trump’s first hundred days did yield an impressive and ever-lengthening list of scandals. And war crimes. During his short time in office, Trump has racked up an impressive list of war crimes. Congratulations, Mr. President! Where to begin? Nine days after Trump’s Inauguration, US Navy SEALs together with elite troops from the United Arab Emirates descended on the village of Yaklaa in the Yemeni governorate of Bayda. At the time, the White House said that the mission’s objective was to enter a compound controlled by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and gather intelligence by grabbing computers and cell phones. It was not until a week later that US military officials stated that the prime objective of the raid was to capture or kill AQAP emir Qassim al-Rimi.

The Never Ending US Wars

May 14, 2017 Tom Engelhardt, www.tomdispatch.com Educate! Donald Trump, Drones, ISIS, Somalia, Syria, Wars and Militarism, Yemen

By Tom Engelhardt for Tom's Dispatch. Here’s a footnote to America’s present wars that’s worth pondering for a few moments. The U.S. Air Force is running out of ordinary bombs, smart bombs, and in some cases missiles. No kidding. The air war over Syria and Iraq that began in August 2014 and is now two-and-a-half years old has eaten through America’s supply of bombs. The usual crew of weapons makers evidently can’t produce such munitions fast enough to keep up, so the U.S. military is, for instance, cutting into its stockpiles of smart bombs in Asia to send some to the Middle East and Africa simply to keep pace with demand -- and, according to recent reports, it may nonetheless be failing to do so. Consider this a longer term problem since, in the era of Donald Trump, the generals are increasingly running their own wars, which, if the daily drumbeat of news about them is accurate, are only ramping up further. Everywhere you look, from Yemen to Iraq, Syria to Somalia, the American military is growing more assertive as civilian casualties rise and constraints of any sort, whether on special operations raids, drone strikes, or the use of the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, fall away.

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