Drone Wars

i hang with some pretty unusual folks and i hear a fair few conspiracy theories.  So the other day before the code pink drone protest that i attended in San Francisco, i was listening carefully to my dear friend Modok who was telling me about the dangers of drones.

Turns out not to be a conspiracy

Turns out not to be a conspiracy

Modok and Dianne talked about how the Israeli military was increasingly using drones inside that country often killing civilians, in an effort to prove they are effective for market.    But then Modok said something that caught my ear. He claimed that weaponized drones would be deployed inside the US in the coming time.  i objected.  While i despise the drone program, i was quite confident that while they might well be used for surveillance within the US, there would not be weaponized drones inside this country anytime soon.  It was too politically expensive, i countered.  Obama and company want to be able to use drones for killings overseas ad bringing them into domestic use might well endanger that tactical advantage.

I was completely wrong.  Today, US Attorney General Holder confirmed that under “extraordinary circumstances” the president can order lethal drone strikes inside the US.

Next time i will listen longer.