U.S. drone base in Ethi­o­pia is operational

[Lars77]

Source: Washington Post

The Air Force has been secretly flying armed Reaper drones on counterterrorism missions from a remote civilian airport in southern Ethi­o­pia as part of a rapidly expanding U.S.-led proxy war against an al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, U.S. military officials said.

The Air Force has invested millions of dollars to upgrade an airfield in Arba Minch, Ethi­o­pia, where it has built a small annex to house a fleet of drones that can be equipped with Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs. The Reapers began flying missions earlier this year over neighboring Somalia, where the United States and its allies in the region have been targeting al-Shabab, a militant Islamist group connected to al-Qaeda.

Mindful of the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” debacle in which two U.S. military helicopters were shot down in the Somali capital of Mogadishu and 18 Americans killed, the Obama administration has sought to avoid deploying troops to the country.

As a result, the United States has relied on lethal drone attacks, a burgeoning CIA presence in Mogadishu and small-scale missions carried out by U.S. Special Forces. In addition, the United States has increased its funding for and training of African peacekeeping forces in Somalia that fight al-Shabab.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-drone-base-in-ethiopia-is-operational/2011/10/27/gIQAznKwMM_story.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. What's that smell wafting over the horizon? Is it Freedom or the smell of burning human flesh?

Can't tell the difference, the propellant from the Hellfires mix with whatever it is and they both smell the same...

PB

[Lars77]

3. This movie is more true than most people think.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ufQCTT1AJL0/TFwFLx3eyuI/AAAAAAAAAxw/JpEaEnKPs9E/s1600/Robert+Duvall+Apocalypse+Now.jpg

[No Elephants]

5. And Duvall is a Republican anyway.

What movie is it? (Sorry, I don't know.)

[Erose999]

7. Apocalypse Now. The context is Duvall's character says "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning...

it smells like... victory."

Another noteworthy Duvall quote from that movie is "Charlie don't surf".

[Lars77]

9. The movie has many themes but one of the most important is cultural imperialism

Its a theme throughout the movie. The bizarre USO show with playboy bunnies in the middle of the jungle, US river boats playing rock music and water skiing down the Mekong tipping locals boats over, and of course the surfing air cavalry.

It was released in 1979, so its a pretty gutsy piece of work coming so close after the war ended.

I would recommend everyone to see this movie. Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishbourne..




"Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger."

[Taverner]

10. Yes - an amazing movie. And ironic, since "Heart of Darkness" is actually pro-empire

In the end, we're the brutes that need extermination....

[Lars77]

11. Heart of Darkness is on my to-read list. I just gotta finish my MA first.. :)

[Erose999]

12. And as a companion piece to the movie, listen to this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bossv8SKXv4

Charlie don't surf by the Clash.

[pam4water]

2. I heard monomaniacal Dr. Stangelove laughter in the distance. We have achieve drone superiority.

[No Elephants]

4. Now we're offshoring assassinations. It was our last growth industry!

[Erose999]

8. Looks like robots are taking all the jobs though.

[The Northerner]

6. K&R n/t