An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) sits in a shelter at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, after a mission on November 10, 2008. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the Reaper can carry up to 3,750 pounds of laser-guided bombs and missiles.
I Worked On The US Drone Program. The Public Should Know What Really Goes On -- Heather Linebaugh, The Guardian
Few of the politicians who so brazenly proclaim the benefits of drones have a real clue how it actually works (and doesn't)
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.
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My Comment: The problem with having a debate on the drone program is the obvious need to keep much of it secret so that the enemy would not be able to gain any advantage from any disclosures on their limits and/or operational capabilities. But a debate is needed .... the question that needs to be asked is 'when'.
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