The four USAF military drone operators who recently blew the whistle and exposed the callousness and complete lack of concern for civilian casualties of the US drone assassination programme, (and received very little mainstream media exposure), yesterday found their bank accounts and credit cards all blocked by the US government. The effects of that on daily life are devastating. My source is their lawyer, Jesselyn Radack, through the Sam Adams Associates (of which we are both members).
No criminal charges have been brought against any of the men, despite numerous written threats of prosecution. Their finances appear to have been frozen by executive action under anti-terrorist legislation. This is yet a further glaring example of the use of “anti-terror” powers against people who are not remotely terrorist.
More whistleblowers have been jailed under Obama than under all previous US Presidents combined. Even so, the US authorities seem wary of the publicity that might surround prosecution of these servicemen, who only spoke of the effect upon their own health of having repeatedly to carry out heartless and often untargeted killings.
So their lives are being destroyed in other ways. You will forgive me for recalling that I know how they feel because I have been through just the same thing myself.
When I blew the whistle on UK complicity in torture and extraordinary rendition, I received numerous written threats from the FCO under the Official Secrets Act, and for a while I lived in daily expectation of arrest. Still more hurtful were the constant denials from Jack Straw and his repeated assertion that the UK was never complicit in torture, that there was no such thing as extraordinary rendition, together with the frequent imputations to journalists and politicians that I was in poor mental health and an alcoholic. I never had my bank account suspended, but there were interventions with prospective employers that prevented my getting another job.
Still, I had it easy. Chelsea Manning will celebrate her birthday in jail on 17 December.
It is worth recalling what these drone operators told us:
Bryant said the killing of civilians by drone is exacerbating the problem of terrorism. “We kill four and create 10 [militants],” Bryant said. “If you kill someone’s father, uncle or brother who had nothing to do with anything, their families are going to want revenge.”
The Obama administration has gone to great lengths to keep details of the drone program secret, but in their statements today the former operators opened up about the culture that has developed among those responsible for carrying it out. Haas said operators become acculturated to denying the humanity of the people on their targeting screens. “There was a much more detached outlook about who these people were we were monitoring,” he said. “Shooting was something to be lauded and something we should strive for.”
The deaths of children and other non-combatants in strikes was rationalized by many drone operators, Haas said. As a flight instructor, Haas claimed to have been non-judicially reprimanded by his superiors for failing a student who had expressed “bloodlust,” an overwhelming eagerness to kill.
Haas also described widespread alcohol and drug abuse among drone pilots. Drone operators, he said, would frequently get intoxicated using bath salts and synthetic marijuana to avoid possible drug testing and in an effort to “bend that reality and try to picture yourself not being there.” Haas said that he knew at least a half-dozen people in his unit who were using bath salts and that drug use had “impaired” them during missions.
Bob Smith
27 Nov, 2015 – 7:52 pm
“I would never try and stifle comment.”
But stifling/ridiculing comment and debate about real conspiracies (that is, conspiracy ANALYSIS) was the express purpose of “CIA document 1035-960 – Countering Criticism of the Warren Report” which is where the term “conspiracy theory” (which you so compliantly help perpetuate the use of) originates from.
“Personally I have no problem with the idea of drone attack”
Well, millions of people DO. But they take particular exception to the actual EXECUTION of drone attacks – not just the IDEA of them.
And Bob, will you stop banging on about ‘cliques’ – ANYONE can post here!
“queen Lizzie will get a rise from £40.1 million to £42.9 million quid.”
Blimey, she’s getting paid almost as much as Tony Blair!
Tony_0pmoc
27 Nov, 2015 – 8:34 pm
(Re ‘Syrian Girl’)
“one of the Bravest and Most Beautiful and Intelligent Girls in The World.”
Holy shit, you got that right. I’m head-over-heels in love!
Outstanding.
I read this excellent piece by James Petras earlier. Much about Obama’s giving in to the Zionist lobby by releasing Jonathan Pollard. He speaks of the existence of 52 (an unimaginable number) main Jewish lobby groups in the US and the increase of Zionist support in France.
‘The effects are now visible in the major political institutions and media of the US, England and the Continent. Previously, France was held up as an example of a successful multi-cultural nation – a dubious assumption as any historian of colonial France can testify. But that image is rapidly changing. Influential Zionists have fomented widespread Islamophobia and authored legislation restricting free speech which has outlawed criticism of Israel as ‘anti-Semitism’.’
He concludes under this heading pointing out that China is wrongly blamed for cyber crime.
Cyber Crimes of Our Times: Billionaire Israeli Swindlers and the Chinese Military
‘Contrasted with the ‘allegations’ against the Chinese, three ‘Israeli businessmen’ have been officially charged by US prosecutors with running a multi-billion dollar cyber-hacking scam within the US over the past five years. Dubbed the biggest financial hack in US history, the story hardly made headlines in the US media and was conveniently buried by subsequent ‘terror attacks’ in Europe.
The case is instructive. Three Israelis (one a US-Israeli dual citizen) hacked-attacked ten of the largest US financial institutions, including JP Morgan Chase and Fidelity Investments, as well as the Wall Street Journal … downloading protected information on over 100 million Americans – the biggest hack-attack in US history. Gery Shalon, Ziv Orenstein and Joshua Samuel Aaron employed hundreds of employees in Israel and elsewhere running a mega-cybercriminal enterprise.
According to the Financial Times (11/11/2015, p1), “the hacks took place from 2012 to mid-2015 and were aimed at aiding stock market manipulation that generated tens of millions of dollars.” In addition to selling ‘pumped-up’ stocks to millions of customers of the companies they had hacked, Shalom et al. launched cyber attacks to launder millions (more likely billions) for illegal drug and counterfeit software dealers, malicious malware distributors, illegal online casinos and an illegal ‘bitcoin exchange’ known as ‘Coin.mx.’ Someone within the financial security apparatus of the US government (white collar crime unit) must have tipped them off. They are safe in Israel; the Netanyahu regime has yet to act on a US extradition order, although they are reportedly under ‘house arrest’ in their villas.
In contrast to the on-going bellicose rhetoric, which Washington has directed against China’s alleged hackers, Washington has been ‘very reluctant’ to press the issue of extraditing the cyber-thieves with its ‘special partner’ in Tel Aviv.’
Zionist Power: Swindlers and Impunity, Traitors and Pardons
by James Petras / November 30th, 2015
http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/11/zionist-power-swindlers-and-impunity-traitors-and-pardons/
KingOfWelshNoir
27 Nov, 2015 – 9:16 pm
“‘I think we should save our ire for the armchair warriors of Westminster.’
What’s the difference between an armchair warrior and a drone operator?”
Yes, I guess I shouldn’t have put it so obliquely.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2015/11/obamas-war-on-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-564584
Thanks for clearing that up.
Daniel
28 Nov, 2015 – 12:13 am
“Bombs and drones are counterproductive but the establishment want it that way because, for them, terrorist retaliation justifies the further use of bombs and drones.”
You are absolutely right, Daniel.
You’ve GOT it!