In the wake of the Paris attack that killed 129, four former US Air Force drone operators wrote an open letter to the US president, his secretary of defence and the CIA director:
President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C.Secretary Ashton B. Carter
Department of DefenseDirector John O. Brennan
Central Intelligence AgencyDear President Obama, Secretary Carter and Director Brennan:
We are former Air Force service members. We joined the Air Force to protect American lives and to protect our Constitution. We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world.
When the guilt of our roles in facilitating this systematic loss of innocent life became too much, all of us succumbed to PTSD. We were cut loose by the same government we gave so much to sent out in the world without adequate medical care, reliable public health services, or necessary benefits. Some of us are now homeless. Others of us barely make it.
We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country’s leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home. Such silence would violate the very oaths we took to support and defend the Constitution.
We request that you consider our perspective, though perhaps that request is in vain given the unprecedented prosecution of truthtellers who came before us like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden. For the sake of this country, we hope it is otherwise.
Sincerely,
Brandon Bryant
Staff Sergeant
MQ1B Predator Sensor Operator
SERE Instructor Trainee
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Disabled Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Founder of Project RED HANDCian Westmoreland
Senior Airman
RF Transmissions Systems
USAF CENTCOM
73rd Expeditionary Air Control Squadron
Disabled Afghanistan Veteran
Project RED HAND’s Sustainable Technology DirectorStephen Lewis
Senior Airman
MQ1B Predator Sensor Operator
USAF Joint Special Operations Command
3rd Special Operations Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan VeteranMichael Haas
Senior Airman
MQ1B Predator Sensor Operator Instructor
USAF Air Combat Command
15th Reconnaissance Squadron
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
The United Nations calls the drone killing “indiscriminate”.
The Pentagon wants to increase the number of daily drone flights by 50% by 2019.
The four servicemen together have over 20 years experience of operating drones. Among them, Bryant took part in killing Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a 16-year-old boy, a US citizen. Even if al-Awlaki committed treason, he still had the right to a trial. The president is not judge, jury and executioner.
Fun fact: President Obama solemnly swore to preserve, protect and defend the US Constitution on the Bibles of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
– Abagond, 2015.
Source: Mainly The Guardian (2015).
See also:
- Martin Luther King, Jr: Riverside speech against the Vietnam War
- The incomplete list of children Obama has killed with drones
- The term “terrorist”
Dammit Abagond!!! You’re walkin’ around in my damned head more often than you can even imagine!! Thank you for this….
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Brave, brave men.
‘Never swear undying loyalty to any nation or its leaders – they would send you to your death at a whim if it came to it.’
I have seen some sickening videos demonstrating the way American soldiers pulverise innocent civilians in the Middle East.
To stop reprisals, such as those in Paris, the West would have to stop intervening in territories it has no mandate over.
But, in the ‘Game of Empires’, our leaders, of course, care little for reprisals. If anything, the reprisals only serve as an excuse to build up the Empire ever higher.
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War is hell! Those that choose to participate in it will sample horrifying things.
When you see the money don’t jump unless you are ready to do your duty.
Career service personnel are proud of their contributions to the preservation of their nation. All career personnel swear their “undying loyalty to their nation”!
Drones are just one of the massive killing machines being employed today!
Hopefully the United States will allow other nations to do the fighting since the current problems are related to other parts of the world.
I understand the new military pay system will give credit for time served even if a person does not retire. Maybe even a 401K package of some sort.
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@ Allen Shaw
You seem to be missing the point. They are saying that drones increase terrorism, undermining the safety of the US.
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But but but…predator drones r funny.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWKG6ZmgAX4&w=560&h=315)
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[…] An open letter to President Obama https://abagond.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/an-open-letter-to-president-obama/ […]
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abagon; I am not missing any points.
The current terrorism was started in the early 1900’s when Great Britain screwed the Arabian leaders, the same way they did the Africans. For more than a century the Europeans have stripped the wealth of that land. The people of the Middle East have been gaining education and confidence every since! ISIS is a very small (tiny) group of idiots that must be contained.
Do you really believe a few drones that do no more damage than any other bomb are the cause of hate that has built up? Drones allow the targeting of selected individuals who are causing the world trouble and yes the President does have the power to declare a person a target. You should perhaps read the law that he follows which was passed by congress. If any other person was President there would not be such a question raised.
Are you complaining about the ships that are firing missiles into the land? What about the tons of bomb that are being dropped from our aircraft?
What about the constant complaining about their religion as being illegitimate?
Your servicemen bit off more than they could chew and “could not cut the mustard” now want to cry about it.
The giant has awakened, terrorism is with us!
The serious problem in the Middle East is the war between the radical Islamic Sunnis Caliphate (ISIS, ISIL) and the other Sunnis and the Shia Muslims.
We could turn control of the natural resources back to the people of the land and maybe get rid of some of the hate; however if we allow President Obama to continue to manage the “affairs of state” instead of every “Tom, Dick and Harry” we also could assist the legitimate Muslim Leaders to gain control of their land by assisting them in training and supplying them with Materiel!
When I was young we were not so frightened as to allow fear of others to control our actions.
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@Allan
The U.S. drone attacks are on the same level as the Paris attacks. It is a form of terrorism anyway you look at it.
I got a problem with drones on a multitude of levels. Their the eye in the sky that gives the president god like powers. Their Orwellian nature should give anybody worried about civil liberties a pause.
We are using them in countries were not officially at war with. That in itself is a violation of the constitution.
One thing that should be obvious in looking at the data is our government doesn’t know exactly how many people they are blowing up. Thats why the U.N. calls it indiscriminate.
Defense contractors are pushing drone technology, lobbying congress and U.S. foreign policy reflects that. Market analysts predict an 11 billion dollar market in drones within a few years. Obama just opened up markets allowing the sale of American made drones to our allies. The reasoning is that China and Isreal shouldn’t be the only ones selling drones out their in the “free market”. It also means more American involvement in how our allies use the drones, logistic support, sharing Intel ect.
We’re killing people because it’s profitable so investors can trade these stocks on Wall Street.
POC are the human targets for perfecting this new violence.
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/drones-graphs/
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To All Who Will Think:
Each person has a right to their opinions about how the United States conducts their business.
I am not going to dispute any of the believes expressed. The President of the United States is the one individuals that has the responsibility to make the final decisions concerning the security of this nation.
Those of us preparing these comments do not have any responsibility to do much of anything about the protection of his nation.
So continue to express your opinions with the assurance that the President is protecting you even when you condemn him!
Have at it!
Do not forget to vote!
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Reblogged this on League of Bloggers For a Better World.
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Democracy Now interviewed these men.
Exclusive: Air Force Whistleblowers Risk Prosecution to Warn Drone War Kills Civilians, Fuels Terror
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/11/20/exclusive_air_force_whistleblowers_risk_prosecution
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[…] Sourced through Scoop.it from: abagond.wordpress.com […]
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Muslims killed almost 3 thousand Americans in 2001
Payback’s a bit¢h, ain’t it?
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@Bobby M
“Payback’s a bit¢h, ain’t it?”—You would think Americans would get that by now, but all they do is whine and complain. Perhaps they should have left those Muslims alone.
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@Bobby M…3,000 vs millions of human beings — some real, “Proud to be “Murican” payback right there. {smdh}
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I’ve been reticent and commenting on all these silly articles involving these four people. I was in Brandon Bryant’s supervisory chain for the last year or so of his career in the Air Force. He exhibited no problems with the way work was done or concern about doing his job. He was very good at his job and took pride in it. In fact the only concerns he voiced were for the way he was treated by a supervisor years before when he wasn’t allowed to leave work to look for his missing dog. If he had issues there was a psychiatrist assigned to our unit that showed up probably twice a week to see how people were doing to make himself known and to help anybody that needed it. He could’ve spoken with him in complete anonymity and either got out of the position he was in or gotten moved into a different job. In my opinion he also isn’t a whistleblower because he only did about a quarter of the things that he said that he did. He wasn’t even on shift when half of the incidents occurred. I considered Brandon a friend and if I had known that he had this many problems I would not have recommended him for SERE training and would’ve sought to get him help. He was certainly well adjusted or a very good actor over the last year of his career. I feel bad for him because he obviously does have PTSD and I would hope that he would seek help instead of making up stories to pay the bills and to reach some level of his 15 minutes of fame. FYI, I changed my name to avoid backlash.
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@ Free Barnes
Tons of people grin and bear jobs they cannot stand. I see what the four are doing as an act of bravery, not as whining or vanity: Obama, if you have noticed, does not take kindly to whistle-blowers.
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Then take down my post and go on believing whatever you want. The only people believing his whole story are the people that want to. I’m sure Brandon in his mind is doing the right thing, but then again his fascination with fantasy novels would fit right into his narrative.
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Kiwi, did you really write this sober comment? See what you can do when you lay off the sauce! Good job.
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Weird thing is that just recently I read a completely different story. US Pilots not allowed to drop bombs to preserve civilian lives.
“Strikes against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) targets are often blocked due to an Obama administration policy to prevent civilian deaths and collateral damage”
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/us-pilots-confirm-obama-admin-blocks-75-percent-of-isis-strikes/
I suppose the anti-drone people want US to cease all operations against ISIS then? Or how people in here would fight ISIS? Or would you resist it at all?
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After reading stuff like
and then
It confirms that many supervisors are completely clueless about their staff, do not have a good grasp of employee motivation and are in dire need of management training themselves.
They even make up stories about their staff to fit their own perspectives, creating a fantasy depiction as it were. It certainly calls into question those who allege others are making up fantasy.
Indeed, it is possible to have two different perspectives of the same “truth”.
But that is not saying much. I worked in human resources consulting for over 2 decades, and many of my colleagues specialized in talent management and leadership development, but often were clueless about what to do about their own staff.
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@ Axlone
If the past is any indication, US military intervention is just going to make matters worse. That is what led to ISIS in the first place. Not every problem has a military solution.
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jefe Every since they invented the efficiency report which is required there have been problems. What you put down in writing goes on into the future and can never be erased.
Because of that hardly any report reflects what as person thinks about another!
In my day in the service the White Non Commissioned Officers received marks in the highest column while very few Blacks ever received an entry in that column. Promotions went to those who had entries in the highest column. Yet any Black Non Com with entries in the next to highest column were considered to be the best.
Nothing has changed since! Man is dishonest so no one has a right to expect anything else.
For years the military had two boxes Character and Efficiency and a response of as I can remember Excellent Good Unsatisfactory. The joke use to be Character Yes Efficiency No.
Please do not ever expect a person to fairly evaluate another in writing!
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Obama is the worst president in US history. So far.
(https://youtu.be/T28pzdHaPkI?t=21m38s)
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