Tag Archives: pakistan

International, U.S.

World War 3: Terror Drone update. Former CIA official says blowback coming for U.S., because drones kill mainly civilians!

“We have gone a long way down the road of creating a situation where we are creating more enemies than we are removing from the battlefield. We are already there with regards to Pakistan and Afghanistan.”-Robert Grenier, former CIA official

5 June 2012, Robert Grenier, head of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) counter terrorism center from 2004 to 2006, and was a CIA station chief in Pakistan, is warning of blowback from the use of assassination drones (unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs).

This is because drone strikes kill more bystanders than actual terrorist targets!

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates as many as 830 civilians have been killed in Pakistan. 138 civilians in Yemen and 57 in Somalia. The problem, Grenier says, is that Obama’s drone policy is too vague; anyone, especially males, seen in an area suspected of having terrorists is considered a target: “It needs to be targeted much more finely. We have been seduced by them and the unintended consequences of our actions are going to outweigh the intended consequences.”

He says recent drone killings in Yemen will actually make that country the new safe haven for terrorists: “If you strike them indiscriminately you are running the risk of creating a terrific amount of popular anger. They have tribes and clans and large families. Now all of a sudden you have a big problem … I am very concerned about the creation of a larger terrorist safe haven in Yemen.”

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. diplomats caught smuggling weapons in Pakistan! Trying to get into areas they were not cleared to go to!

4 June 2012, Pakistan’s Dunya News reporting that police stopped a car only to discover it was being used by U.S. diplomats, and they were carrying guns and ammo!

It happened at toll plaza on Peshawar Motorway.  The Pakistani driver of the car was arrested.  Dunya News had said the U.S. citizens were let go because they have “diplomatic immunity”, but another Pakistani news source, Dawn TV, said three U.S. citizens were being held for questioning.  The guns and ammo were seized.

The “diplomats” claim they were heading to Peshawar, however, Pakistani police said the diplomats were turned around because they did not have the proper security clearances to go to Peshawar!

International, U.S.

World War 3: Terror Drone update, 23 May – 03 June. U.S. launches all out drone offensive in Pakistan! If you are a man you will be killed! Rescuers are now considered militants!

3 June 2012

U.S. drone (aka UAV) attack in Pakistan kills at least 10 people.  Of course the U.S. claims that they were all militants, but that’s only because official U.S. policy dictates that any male killed in the area of a drone strike (or any military attack) is assumed to be an “enemy”: “It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”-New York Times  (“posthumously” means after they kill you, you know, the old “shoot first ask questions later” policy)

The New York Times article went on to explain the extremely simple mindedness of the reasoning: “…people in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good.”

I thought the simpleton George W. Bush wasn’t in charge anymore?

Reports of the drone strike vary; some reports say it was a “military compound”, while others say it was two houses.  Local officials say the drone fired four missiles at a village, where people had gathered to offer condolences for a person killed just the day before, by a U.S. drone strike!

At least two of the people killed were not Pakistanis.

2 June 2012

A U.S. drone strike kills two people in Pakistan.

28 May 2012

Pakistani TV news, Dunya News, reported a massive drone attack. A total of eight missiles were fired into a town, during two waves of drone attacks.  Residents fled in fear because at least five drones were spotted circling the town after the strike.

The town is called Hassokhel, and was targeted by drones on 24 May as well.  U.S. officials have been reporting that the drone strikes as targeting the town of Miranshah, however, Pakistani media says the attacks actually took place against the town of Hassokhel.  The two towns are separated by 25 kilometers (16 miles).  Are these attacks a case of CIA incompetence?

26 May 2012

BBC reports four people in Pakistan killed by U.S. drone strike. The missile hit a house. The U.S. NavyTimes claims the target was a bakery!

24 May 2012

U.S. drone strike hits a Mosque in Pakistan, killing ten people. Locals say the drone fired two missiles into the Mosque. Of course the U.S. government says the Mosque was really a “military compound”.  The Mosque was located in the town of Hassokhel.

Local officials said rescue efforts were delayed as five U.S. drones continued to circle the area afterwards!  Here’s how an evil unnamed U.S. official describes a rescue effort: “The house caught fire after missiles hit it and militants immediately cordoned off the area and were searching in the rubble.”

23 May 2012

A U.S. drone strike kills five people in Pakistan.  According to Fox News, the U.S. increase in drone strikes could be in retaliation for the Pakistani government not allowing U.S./NATO supply convoys through to Afghanistan.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: May 14-20. Increased strikes in Yemen. Civilians being forced to fight for government? Oil fields to be guarded by UAVs. Welcome to the 2012 Olympics.

20 May 2012, Iraq revealed they will be using larger UAVs to patrol their Persian Gulf oil rigs. The program is known as Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS).

Iraq already operates the smaller Scan Eagle drones.

20 May 2012, at least two people killed in U.S. drone attack.  Local officials say the Yemen army is on offensive in southern Yemen, and is being supported by U.S. drone strikes.

The offensive began on 18 May. Dozens of people have been killed, including civilians.  Yemen army officials admitted that some of the “civilians” are actually people who “volunteered” to fight for the government!

17 May 2012, two or three suspected Mujahideen were killed by U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

15 May 2012, seven Mujahideen and six civilians were killed by two U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. Independent news media reports say at least 12 civilians were killed, and 21 wounded.

19 May 2012, a Pakistani recon drone crashed in Punjab Province. Technical problems were blamed.

14 May 2012, citizens of Pakistan are suing their own government for failing to stop the U.S. drone strikes: “This is the first time that victims are suing their own government for failing to protect their lives against drone strikes.”-Shahzad Akbar, Foundation for Fundamental Rights

19 may 2012, Israel has created a recon drone the size of a large butterfly. It weighs 20 grams, and is designed for use inside buildings.

Canadian news media reporting that the 2012 London Olympics will be held in a concentration camp, of sorts.  British officials plan to use all kinds of military force, including “…48,000 security forces. 13,500 troops. Surface-to-air missiles stationed on top of residential apartment buildings. A sonic weapon that disperses crowds by creating ‘head-splitting pain.’ Unmanned drones peering down from the skies. A safe zone, cordoned off by an 18-kilometre electrified fence, ringed with trained agents and 55 teams of attack dogs.”

The Toronto Star went on to point out that “Not even China in 2008 used drone planes or ringed the proceedings with a massive, high-voltage fence. But here is London, preparing a counter-insurgency, and parking an aircraft carrier right in the Thames.”

14 May 2012, the U.S. Congress is pushing for public safety agencies to use recon drones. The law was passed on February 14, 2012. Now the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has created a regulation that allows the use of recon drones under 25 pounds by local police, fire and similar “safety” agencies.

For some reason the U.S. Congress is really concerned about allowing local agencies to use lots and lots of drones.

 

International, U.S.

Terror Drones: May 7-13. Obama kills thousands more people than Bush Jr! German officials say some of those killed were German citizens! USAF spying on you right now!

May 12, 2012, Yemen media reporting that two U.S. drone strikes killed 16 people in Yemen.

The drone strikes are part of a Yemen military blitz underway now: “A force of about 20,000 men is taking part in this offensive, ordered by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to free the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar.”-unnamed Yemen military officer

Thousands of civilians are fleeing the government’s efforts to “free the cities”.

May 10, 2012, CNN reported that U.S. drone strikes killed eight people in Yemen.  An analyst said the U.S. has launched at least 15 drone strikes in Yemen this year, so far.

May 11, 2012, Mujahideen in Somalia say a U.S. drone strike left 38 people dead.

May 12, 2012, in Seattle, Washington, a group of university students from Pakistan won the Best Audience Award at the National Film Festival For Talented Youth (NFFTY).  Their 20 minute documentary (The Other Side) is about the ongoing U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan.  The student filmmakers were not able to attend the ceremony.

So far this year there have been at least 10 drone strikes, with at least 83 Pakistanis reported killed.

According to a May 11, 2012, report by Germany’s Deutsche Welle, peace prize winner U.S. President Barack Obama has killed more Pakistanis with drones in his first three and a half years in office, than former President George W. Bush did in all his last five years as president!

So far Obama has authorized the killing of 2,355 people in Pakistan, compared to Bush Jr’s measly 426!!!

According to Peter Rudolf, of the German Institute for International and Security Policy, German citizens have also been killed by U.S. drones.  He says German officials are looking the other way because of Germany’s support for the United States: “Certain information that would lead to the killing of a German citizen is not permitted to be shared [with public/news media] as part of the cooperation between intelligence agencies.” 

An unnamed German Interior Ministry official confirmed, in a round-a-bout way, that the U.S. was conducting extra-judicial murder and Germany had no problem with it: “Our constitutional order prohibits providing information regarding extra-judicial killing.”

May 8, 2012, the Federation of American Scientists posted on their website USAF documents that prove the U.S. Air force is spying on people who live within the United States.

As long as the imagery data they collect is considered “incidental” then they are violating no privacy laws, or civil liberties of U.S. citizens.  The data can be kept for 90 days, and shared with other agencies of the Department of Defense.

Also, USAF documents show that drones used for combat must not be operated by civil service workers, or contractors.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: April 30 – May 6. Canada to use drones on its own people, new arms race. Drones on trial in U.S.

May 5, 2012, U.S. drone strike kills at least eight people in Pakistan.

May 2, 2012, U.S. drone strikes kill at least 15 people in Yemen.

From April 30 to May 6, the U.S./NATO increased airstrikes in Afghanistan.  They include the use of drones.  The result is an increasing number of civilians deaths.

May 3, 2012: U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, numb nuts Ryan Crocker, stated that the new military pact between Afghanistan and the United States could allow drone strikes to continue past 2014.

May 5, 2012: U.S. Mormon news source, Deseret News, supports the FAA issuing civilian licenses for drone operation.  Their article points out that many businesses would benefit, like photography, sports, real estate, etc.  Despite the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to issue civilian licenses, Utah State University has already been using a drone, taking pictures.

May 5, 2012: According to The Canadian Press, the Royal Canadian Air Force will expand the testing of drones to include operations by police: “We know we need to use them, and the Canadian Forces from a capability point of view are moving ahead to ensure there is domestic capability as part of its UAV program in the future.”-Lieutenant General Walter Semianiw

General Semianiw admitted the use of drones by Canadian police is to commit acts of violence: “You must remember that, in Canada, within the domestic construct, I do not have the right to be able to apply lethal force in Canada. That is the responsibility of the police.”

Canadian officials also implied that there is a drone arms race going on between the United States and Canada, by pointing out that the U.S. has military drones patrolling along the U.S.-Canadian border.

Canada has used Israeli made drones in Afghanistan.

May 4, 2012: The Seattle Times opinion piece says that since so many people use the cameras in their cell phones to take pictures of just about anything, then police using drones to take pictures of you in your back yard does not constitute invasion of privacy.

May 3, 2012: It’s the opening stage of the first trial for a U.S. citizen arrested with the use of a drone.  The man arrested was tasered several times, but local police in North Dakota called in a Predator drone because they were concerned for their safety!

What happens at this trial could affect how drones are used by police against the citizens of the U.S.: “There is, furthermore, no existing case law that bars their use in investigating crimes.”-Douglas Manbeck, ND state prosecutor

 

 

International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: April 23-29. Pakistan hit. Taliban claim capture of drone. U.S. cops chomping at the bit for their new drones. U.S. politicians taking food from hungry children to build more drones! CIA protected by law.

“The American planes hovering in the skies for quite some time fired at least three missiles at a house in Zafar town in Miran Shah bazaar that damaged the compound completely….They did not appear to be the local militants.”-unnamed local official

April 29, 2012, a U.S. assassination drone killed at least three people in Pakistan.

The attack took place in North Waziristan (within the Waziristan region), dozens of people were wounded.

Also on April 29, a U.S. drone crashed in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.  Mujahideen claim they shot it down and have recovered the wreckage.

“We want (police) to be able to use the aircraft sooner because there is a public interest.”-Ben Gielow, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International

According to a Boston Herald report, U.S. police are chomping at the bit for their FAA issued drone licenses.

“Rushing to push through applications to fly drones doesn’t seem like a good idea.”-Jennifer Lynch, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Many police departments say they have already bought small drones, claiming they are to be used to find missing people.  Until now rules did not allow them to legally use them.  Federal Aviation Administration will have new rules in place by May 14, allowing your local police to legally spy on you with drones.

What’s interesting is that some “law” enforcement agencies have already been caught operating drones.

“….instead of having a caucus to feed preschool children, they decided it was more important to have a Drone Caucus and that’s because all the manufacturers in their districts are funding them.” also “Eisenhower was so right, and he was so right when he said it steals money, it robs us of food for our children, of healthcare for our parents, he was so right. And it’s just worse and worse.”-Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK

Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, revealed that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are operating Predator-B drones, from North Dakota and now into Washington state.  They claim to be watching the Canadian border for criminal activity.

Down Mexico way, some people are questioning the effectiveness of Predator drones used on that border.

According to stltoday.com: “…Homeland Security officials who have spent six years and more than $250 million building the nation’s largest fleet of domestic surveillance drones. The nine Predators that help police America’s borders have yet to be very useful in stopping contraband or illegal immigrants.”

Washington Post reported on April 25 that President Barack Obama has authorized the CIA to use drones to kill people, even if they can’t tell who it is they’re killing.  The new drone policy is called “signature” strikes.

On April 10, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s Stephen W. Preston, gave a speech which explained why the Obama administration is so gung ho on allowing the CIA, and not the military, to operate the assassination drones. Supposedly traditional “laws of war” do not apply to intelligence agencies.

According to Preston, the CIA answers only to U.S. laws, and those laws favor the CIA: “The courts have long recognized the state secrets privilege and have consistently upheld its proper invocation to protect intelligence sources and methods from disclosure. Moreover, federal judges have dismissed cases on justiciability or political question grounds, acknowledging that the courts are, at times, institutionally ill-equipped and constitutionally incapable of reviewing national security decisions committed to the President and the political branches.”

Speaking of Yemen, the Associated Press revealed that a Yemen Mujahideen claimed to have killed by CIA drone strike last year, is actually alive and well.

April 24, a top FBI official was in Yemen, just two days after a CIA drone strike killed what Yemen officials claim was a top militant “leader”.

Mohammed Al-Basha, Yemen’s embassy spokesman in Washington DC, revealed that the FBI is also involved with drone strikes in Yemen: “Mueller visits Yemen on an annual basis so this is not a special or secret occasion. President Hadi emphasised that he is strongly committed to combatting extremism and working with the U.S. to counter the mutual threat of terrorism.”

FBI director Robert Mueller vowed to crush the Yemen Mujahideen.

April 27, at least 22 people were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Somalia.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: ‘Mericans burn Qur’an, again! Who said the War on Terror wasn’t about religion?

April 29, 2012, according to the Gainsville Sun, Islamophobic pastor Terry Jones has led another Qur’an burning ceremony in Florida.

He, and his crazy christian followers, ignored Pentagon warnings and burned Qur’ans and a painting of Prophet Muhammad.  Remember, Terry Jones once promised he would “not ever” burn a Qur’an.

Jones has been fined $300 USD by the Gainsville fire department.

February 20, 2012, U.S. troops burned copies of the Qur’an and other Islamic texts in Afghanistan.

March 20, 2011, ‘merican evangelical Wayne Sapp (Jones’ assistant) burned a Qur’an live via the Internet.

International, Technology, U.S.

Government & Media Hypocrisy: Pakistan launches purpose built Ballistic Nuclear Missile; where’s the outrage, where’s the sanctions, where’s the UNSC resolutions?

April 13, 2012, North Korea launched a satellite (not a ballistic missile as western media continued to report!), which ended in failure, yet didn’t fail to bring world wide condemnation.

April 25, 2012, Pakistan launches an improved Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), yet no one cares?   Pakistan has nuclear weapons, yet no one cares that they’ve successfully tested an improved missile designed to carry nukes?

This launch comes less than a week after India successfully launched their first ever ballistic missile.

Here’s what the western members of the UN Security Council had to say about North Korea’s 4th non-weaponized rocket launch: “…[it’s a] provocation, threat to international stability, and another violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

On April 17, 2012, the UNSC increased sanctions against North Korea for launching a non-weaponized rocket!

So far, here’s what the UNSC said about India’s first ICBM launch:

Yeah I thought so you hypocritical SOBs!!

 

Technology

Terror Drones: April 16-22, Iran copies Stealth Drone shares info with Russia & China. Seattle & Ogden using drones. Illinois National Guard RQ-7B. CIA wants to kill everyone!

April 22, 2012, Iranian military officials announced they have successfully reverse engineered the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth UAV, captured from the United States in December last year.

Iranian officials gave several clues to prove they recovered data from the aircraft’s computers.

1: Drone parts had been transferred to California for technical work in October 2010. The drone was later transferred to Kandahar, Afghanistan in November 2010.

2: The drone had experienced some technical flaws in its Kandahar flight in November, but U.S. experts failed resolve the problems. The RQ-170 was then sent back to an airfield near Los Angeles in December 2010, for tests on its censors and parts. The drone had a number of test flights there.

3: The spy drone’s memory revealed that it had flown over Al-Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan two weeks before his death.

“Had we not accessed the plane’s soft wares and hard discs, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve these facts.”-Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces

Iranian officials also confirmed that Russia and China are requesting that Iran share the info recovered from the RQ-170 Sentinel.  Iranian officials said many countries were asking for details on the U.S. stealth drone, but Russian and China had are being most insistent.

To show you how stupid U.S. officials are, U.S. Senator (and warmonger) Joe Lieberman called the claims “Iranian bluster.”

Facts are that during the 1980s Iran reverse engineered every U.S. and British weapons system they had, including the F-14 Tomcat and its Phoenix missiles!

Of course the Soviets helped. The proof is the fact that by the end of the 1980s the Soviets had exact copies of U.S. air to air missiles, including the Phoenix, as well as the radar system used on the F-14!

Iran has been building their own “new builds” of F-5s (including a twin tail version), F-14s (one British intelligence source had counted the number of F-14s Iran now has and concluded that the amount could only be explained by Iran building their own Tomcats), as well as developing their own medium altitude anti-aircraft missile based on the U.S. Hawk system.

Iran’s own Main Battle Tank (MBT), the Zolfaqar-3, is the result of combining technologies from U.S. M60 tank, British Chieftain tank and the Soviet/Russian T-72.  In other words; the Iranians are more than capable of reverse engineering the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth UAV.

April 21, Illinois National Guard has been operating UAVs within the U.S.  The unit is called Shadow Platoon and operates RQ-7B drones.

April 19, reports out of Pakistan said the United States is considering allowing Pakistani military to jointly operate U.S. assassination drones.

On April 19, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has officially requested for permission to kill anyone in Yemen!

According to an unnamed U.S. source, the CIA wants expanded authority to kill, even when it does not know the identities of those who could be killed!  Apparently it is because U.S. assassination drone operators are having a hard time telling who’s the bad guy in Yemen!

U.S. Secretary of Defense, numb nuts Leon Panetta, flat out lied and said all the people killed by drones were planning on attacking the United States:  “Our target there represents those terrorists, or those al-Qaida terrorists that involve a threat to this country, and there are very specific targets. This is not broad based. We are not becoming part of any kind of civil war disputes in that country. We are very precise, and very targeted and will remain pursuant to those operations.”

An international legal expert countered by stating the drone strikes are a violation of international law:  “In other words, the CIA is seeking to escalate an already unlawful campaign of targeted killing at the very time Yemen needs support building the rule of law and ending violence and military conflict. The last time the CIA had this much freedom to kill was in Vietnam. It killed 25,000 people, and the U.S. lost the war!”-Mary Ellen O’Connell, American Society of International Law

April 18, U.S. drones killed five people in Yemen.

April 17, U.S. drones kill 31 people in Somalia.

April 16, three people killed by U.S. terror drone strike in Yemen.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a license for the Seattle Police Department to operate UAVs.  The approval was signed by President Obama back in February.

Since 2006, the FAA has issued as many as 750 UAV licenses, or permits, to 56 local governments through out the country. It took a lawsuit by the Electronic Frountier Foundation to force the FAA to reveal who is getting the permits.

Out of the 56, 22 are law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.  23 have law enforcement duties, such as universities who’s campus police are using the drones.

Here’s a short list of U.S. police departments licensed to operate UAVs: Arlington, Texas; North Little Rock, Arkansas; Queen Anne’s County, Maryland; FBI; Gadsden PD; Georgia Tech PD; Mesa County, Colorado; Miami-Dade, Florida; Montgomery County, Texas; Ogden, Utah; Polk County, Florida; Otter Tail County, Minnesota; Herington, Kansas.