Month

Archives: Drone

More civilian Airstrike Deaths under Trump than in 8 years of Obama

By Steven Feldstein | (The Conversation) | - - When President Donald Trump took office in January, it was unclear whether the bombast from his campaign would translate into an aggressive new…

US will Ease Restrictions on Drones, Expand Usage

TeleSur | - - Speaking last month of reducing restrictions on drone usage, President Trump resorted to biblical language, saying "retribution will be fast and powerful." The United States is preparing to…

Assassination by Robot is now US Policy

By Rebecca Gordon | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - Think of it as the Trojan Drone, the ultimate techno-weapon of American warfare in these years, a single remotely operated plane sent…

US Claims 116 Killed in Drone Strikes, Critics Say 1,000

TeleSur | - - Human rights organizations argue the U.S. government has grossly underestimated the number of civilian deaths caused by drones. The United States government accepted responsibility Friday for inadvertently killing…

US still in Conventional War in Afghanistan via . . . Drones?

By Jack Serle | ( Bureau of Investigative Journalism) | - - US drones hit Taliban more than terrorist networks despite end of Afghan war The majority of US airstrikes in Afghanistan…

Thousands Protest Drone Wars at US Air Force Base in Germany

TeleSur | - - Protesters say the base is being used to coordinate U.S. drone strikes in several countries which they argue violates German constitution. Several thousand demonstrators formed a human chain…

How Syria is becoming a test bed for high-tech weapons of electronic warfare

David Stupples | (The Conversation) | - - The relationship between Russia and the West is becoming increasingly dangerous with potential flashpoints developing in both eastern Europe and Syria. After repeated incursions…

US admits it has no Idea who it is Assassinating by Drone

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - The tragic deaths last January, just now being revealed, of two Western hostages in drone strikes on a relatively empty housing complex in northern Pakistan…

Execution without Trial: A Short History of the Predator Drone

By Grégoire Chamayou | (Tomdispatch.com) Initially, the English word “drone” meant both an insect and a sound. It was not until the outbreak of World War II that it began to take…

American ‘Exceptionalism’ or just Above the Law? Torture, Drones, Assassination with Impunity

By Alfred W. McCoy | (Tomdispatch.com) - "The sovereign is he who decides on the exception,” said conservative thinker Carl Schmitt in 1922, meaning that a nation’s leader can defy the law…

After 500 Strikes: Is America’s Drone War Crashing And Burning?

AJ+ | -- "Drone strikes are the weapon of choice in America's so-called War on Terror. They've been used nearly 500 times in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia since 2002. But while U.S.…

Top 7 Ways Assassination Fails USA as Policy

By Juan Cole Wikileaks has released a government assessment of drone strikes aimed at assassinating top leaders. The document urges such strikes, but is amazingly frank about the drawbacks. it says, "Potential…

Stealth Drone Proliferation: Iranians Reverse engineer captured US Spy Drone

Press TV: | "Iran has released a video showing the test flight of an Iranian-made version of the captured US RQ-170 spy drone. The stealth drone was designed and made in less…

Are US Drone Strikes in Pakistan War Crimes? Only 12% of those Killed are Known Militants

By Rozina Ali Drone Strikes: The numbers don't lie, except when they do By: Rozina Ali At a time when President Barack Obama has likened his new military strategy in Iraq and…

Listening to Nobelist Malala Yusufzai instead of just Honoring Her

Listening to Nobelist Malala Yousafzai instead of just Honoring Her

By Juan Cole Malala Yousafzai has become the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in history, sharing it this year with India’s Kailash Satyarthi, a children's rights activist. Ms. Yousafzai, from…

Drone Strikes as much an Obama Legacy as Health Care: John Oliver

John Oliver "The United States has launched a huge number of drone strikes under President Obama. It’s widely accepted and extremely terrifying" Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Drones (HBO)

Why Obama underestimated ISIL in Syria and Iraq

By Juan Cole President Obama admitted on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday that the US had underestimated the military potential of ISIL. Obama understands that a generational struggle is going on in…

13 Years after US started Bombing it, Afghanistan Still Unstable

News Analysis: Afghan Deal Leaves Room For National Disunity By Frud Bezhan via RFE/RL After months of wrangling and high tension, Afghanistan has finally named a president-elect. Ashraf Ghani's name was officially…

Israel Drones Gaza Human Rights Worker to Death

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A rights group Monday condemned an Israeli drone attack on Gaza that killed a Palestinian worker for a human rights organization the day before, a statement said. The Palestinian…

Obama Prepares for Drone War in Iraq

By Juan Cole President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he will send 300 Green Beret Army special operations soldiers to Iraq. They will be detailed to Iraqi National Army Headquarters and…