The President’s Private War
Andrew Napolitano on the drone war
Tag: drones
Why I Interrupted Obama Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan
Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan spoke at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C., on April 30 to mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was the first time a high-level member of the Obama administration spoke at length about the U.S. drone strikes that the CIA and the Joint … Continue reading “Why I Interrupted Obama Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan”
Waking Up to the Drones
Look at these photographs. See the eager faces among the children at the school — they could be anyone’s kids at any moment in America. And the baby, so precious and new, reflecting the light of his proud parents, the hope of everyone around him. Now imagine that the school is attacked by Predator drones … Continue reading “Waking Up to the Drones”
The Empire Strikes Back: Attack of the Drones
“The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.” – James Madison Drones — unmanned aerial vehicles — come in all shapes and sizes, from nano-sized drones as small as a grain of sand that can do everything from conducting surveillance to detonating explosive charges, to massive “hunter/killer” … Continue reading “The Empire Strikes Back: Attack of the Drones”
Have You Heard the One About the Drone Strikes?
Adam Bates on Washington’s tortured drone logic
Obama Administration Silencing Pakistani Drone-Strike Lawyer
When is the last time you heard from a civilian victim of the CIA’s secret drone strikes? Sure, most of them can’t speak because they’re deceased. But many leave behind bereaved and angry family members ready to proclaim their innocence and denounce the absence of due process, the lack of accountability, and the utter impunity … Continue reading “Obama Administration Silencing Pakistani Drone-Strike Lawyer”
A Tale of Two Murders
Last week, President Obama publicly grieved for the apparently senseless death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin. It hit home especially hard for the President, he said, because "[i]f I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon." This week, under mounting criticism that the President is politicizing Martin’s death, an Obama spokesperson claimed that the President "spoke … Continue reading “A Tale of Two Murders”
Coming to a Neighborhood Near You
I assume most, if not all, readers of Antiwar.com are familiar with drones, aka unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs. I’ve written previously about drones in two Antiwar.com columns: “Memo to Rep. Ron Paul” and “Commuting to War.” Armed drones have become the weapon of choice for the Obama administration to go after would-be terrorists in … Continue reading “Coming to a Neighborhood Near You”
The Ghost and the Machine
Fazillah, age 25, lives in Maidan Shar, the central city of Afghanistan’s Wardak province. She married about six years ago and gave birth to a son, Aymal, who just turned 5 without a father. Fazillah tells her son, Aymal, that his father was killed by an American bomber plane, remote-controlled by computer. That July, in … Continue reading “The Ghost and the Machine”
How Drone War Became the American Way of Life
In the American mind, if Apple made weapons, they would undoubtedly be drones, those remotely piloted planes getting such great press here. They have generally been greeted as if they were the sleekest of iPhones armed with missiles. When the first American drone assassins burst onto the global stage early in the last decade, they … Continue reading “How Drone War Became the American Way of Life”