America’s Secret Drone Empire

[douglas9]

They increasingly dot the planet. There's a facility outside Las Vegas where "pilots" work in climate-controlled trailers, another at a dusty camp in Africa formerly used by the French Foreign Legion, a third at a big air base in Afghanistan where Air Force personnel sit in front of multiple computer screens, and a fourth at an air base in the United Arab Emirates that almost no one talks about.

And that leaves at least 56 more such facilities to mention in an expanding American empire of unmanned drone bases being set up worldwide. Despite frequent news reports on the drone assassination campaign launched in support of America's ever-widening undeclared wars and a spate of stories on drone bases in Africa and the Middle East, most of these facilities have remained unnoted, uncounted, and remarkably anonymous—until now.

Run by the military, the Central Intelligence Agency, and their proxies, these bases—some little more than desolate airstrips, others sophisticated command and control centers filled with computer screens and high-tech electronic equipment—are the backbone of a new American robotic way of war. They are also the latest development in a long-evolving saga of American power projection abroad—in this case, remote-controlled strikes anywhere on the planet with a minimal foreign "footprint" and little accountability.

Using military documents, press accounts, and other open source information, an in-depth analysis by TomDispatch has identified at least 60 bases integral to US military and CIA drone operations. There may, however, be more, since a cloak of secrecy about drone warfare leaves the full size and scope of these bases distinctly in the shadows.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/america-secret-drone-bases-empire

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. When God sends the solar flare that takes out all of this shit, we will not have to wonder

why.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7819201/Nasa-warns-solar-flares-from-huge-space-storm-will-cause-devastation.html
Nasa warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation
Exclusive: Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation “space storm”, Nasa has warned.

National power grids could overheat and air travel severely disrupted while electronic items, navigation devices and major satellites could stop working after the Sun reaches its maximum power in a few years.

Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes “from a deep slumber” sometime around 2013, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. related piece: U.S. Army to fly ‘kamikaze’ drones

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2138237

[vets74]

3. ...Expands to Fill the Time Available. (As well as meeting quota for fired missiles.)

It's a bureaucracy.

It grows naturally.

Whether we're talking kidnapping people, assassinations, or drone slaughters doesn't matter. All of them will tend to grow out over time.

"Drone the fuck out of them Pakis !"

Remember BODY COUNT, anyone ??? These hits work on the same idea.

[ThomWV]

4. I have a relative who "flys" them from the place outside Las Vegas - creepy

I talked with him a couple of months ago about it. He knows what he's doing and he likes it. What can I say? I always knew he was a misguided kid, but I didn't know he was a psychopath. Not until that talk. Now I know.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. What, like a war game to him?

One of the scary things is that it removes the "trigger man" from any sense of actually murdering people.
Just a big console game, focus on making a "toy" fly.
He has no idea he has blood on his hands, does he?