To Drone or Not to Drone

[muse]

Ending the unmanned war: PM asked to drop plans to seek US drone tech
By Kamran Yousaf
Published: July 22, 2013



ISLAMABAD: As the government looks for alternatives to convince the US to call off its drone campaign in the tribal areas, the foreign ministry has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to drop his plan to ask Washington for the transfer of drone technology from his list of options citing ‘legal implications’.

The government was planning to formally request the US for drone technology during the upcoming visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry as part of efforts to end the impasse over the controversial programme.

However, senior foreign ministry officials recently briefed the government on the likely implications of such a policy.

“We have to take a principled stand against drone use. Seeking drone technology shows a contradiction in our policy,” argued a foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“Killing people without due process of law through drones is illegal. If Pakistan acquires this technology, should it kill people without due process as well?” he said.

The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly condemns drone attacks and has urged the US to stop such unilateral strikes.

In a recent background briefing, one senior government official told journalists that Islamabad would seek drone technology from the US to deal with the terror threat.

However, the foreign office strongly believes that acquiring drone technology would weaken Pakistan’s case against the illegal use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

“The foreign office has conveyed its position to the government on the issue. It is now up to them to take the final decision,” said another official.

The official recalled that when the head of the UN team investigating the civilian impact of drone use travelled to Pakistan in March this year, Islamabad sought a ban on the unilateral use of drones against sovereign countries. He said Pakistan was engaged in efforts to create consensus for declaring drone use in counter-terrorism operations illegal.

UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Ben Emerson is due to present his report on the legality of drone use before the annual session of world body in September.

Pakistan expects that the final UN report will help develop consensus against use of drones as weapons.

A recent survey conducted by Washington-based Pew Research Center revealed that the US policy of drone use in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia is facing broad opposition around the world. The survey conducted on the issue in 39 countries, found that more than half of the respondents in 31 of these countries disapproved of US drone attacks against extremist groups. The report noted that in most of the nations polled, there continues to be extensive opposition to the American drone campaign against extremist leaders and organizations.

 

[muse]

OK -- So what the heck is this article pointing to?? That powerful elements within the Pakistan govt are going to set the stage to save the TTP and therefore the AQ in Pakistan

What?

Look it:

Killing people without due process of law through drones is illegal. If Pakistan acquires this technology, should it kill people without due process as well?

So, it's not really a war see, Pakistani Armed Forces, if they kill the Talib, are denying the Talib of "Due Process" -- and if Pakistan does not give Talib "due Process" why should US? or anyone else??

Nawaz and company obeyed the Talib and their financiers line, that the Pakistan govt must "negotiate with Talib -- lets see if they will like the implications

 

[Juice]

Good point.....due process doesn't apply in war.

 

[Kompromat]

Good point.....due process doesn't apply in war.

So the terrorists are free to behead anyone they like without due process because its a war?? oh wait we are talking about world's "greatest democracy here" ... my bad.

 

[Dubious]

Blown Away by ‘Grounded’: Drone Warfare Up Close and Personal
Bob Dreyfusson January 14, 2014 - 11:36 AM ET

A US Predator drone flies above the Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan, Jan. 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Last night I was blown away, though happily not literally, by a brilliant stage performance at Page 73, a theater in Tribeca, in New York City, that often presents plays that have never before been produced in the city. Its current production is Grounded, a play written by George Brant that takes on America’s drone warfare program. It’s a one-woman show, acted by Hannah Cabell, who delivers a searing performance that left me stunned. She portrays a gung-ho, top-gun fighter-bomber pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan who, after becoming pregnant, is assigned to pilot remote drones at Creech Air Force Base outside Las Vegas.

At first reluctant to abandon “the blue,” Cabell’s character adapts to long days of boredom in front of a gray screen, days only occasionally marked by blowing up groups of “military-age males” in the Afghan desert. But as she tracks a “high-value target,” described in the play as a “Number Two”—a riff on the seemingly endless list of Al Qaeda Number Two’s killed since 2001—she finds herself unable to balance her day job with her incongruous role as a wife and mother back at the house to which she returns each day. I won’t reveal too much else about what happens, but do yourself a favor: if you’re in the New York area before the show ends its run on February 1, go see it. (And if you’re a theater producer elsewhere, make plans to put this on stage, with Cabell if she’s available.)

Google “drones“ these days and for every mention of President Obama’s policy of remote killing in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and elsewhere, you’ll get information on drones that might be used to deliver pizzas or online purchases and headlines like: “Berkshire realty company uses drones to film luxury estates.” Or about a bill, recently passed by New Jersey’s state assembly, to regulate the use of unarmed drones by state law enforcement agencies.

But the killing goes on. To be sure, the sheer number of drone strikes has been dropping in recent years, but that’s little comfort to the innocents killed or to the friends and relatives of targeted individuals who become collateral damage. (Such collateral damage plays a critical role in Grounded.) According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which tracks drone strikes, there were twenty-seven drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the CIA in 2013 and thirty-eight more in Yemen, including the December 12, 2013, strike that bombed a wedding party, killing as many as fifteen civilians, injuring up to thirty more. (There were 127 strikes in Pakistan in 2010, seventy-four in 2011, and forty-seven in 2012, according to the BIJ.)

The declining pattern of strikes is welcome, but the very use of drones raises fundamental questions about US policy. Aside from the moral questions, there are also important issues concerning the usefulness of drones, according to Science Daily, which reports on a pair of studies published in a military journal called Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict that challenge drones as a means of warfare. According to the site:

Metin Gurcan’s “Drone Warfare and Contemporary Strategy Making: Does the Tail Wag the Dog?” argues that increasing use of drones in asymmetric conflict is reversing the dominance of strategy over tactics and may be undermining civilian control of the military. Gurcan notes that while there are a number of advantages to using drones, such as effectiveness at removing key targets and avoidance of friendly casualties, they may also increase the power of extremists amongst civilian populations by creating a siege mentality.

And they report on another study that delves into the question of public support for remote killing:

Tom McCauley’s “U.S. Public Support for Drone Strikes against Asymmetric Enemies Abroad: Poll Trends in 2013” shows that, while a strong majority of U.S. citizens are in favor of using drones against terrorists in foreign lands, a small and increasing minority are against their use. In contrast, majorities in most countries are opposed to U.S. drone attacks against terrorists. McCauley notes, “Should drones’ unpopularity in the United States continue to increase, and their unpopularity in other countries persist, they may well become politically impractical, no matter how convenient and cost-effective the technology may be.”
​

Still, drone warfare is big business and, according to Science Daily, the United States spent $5.1 billion in 2013 on drone strikes. According to the International Business Times, at least a dozen companies are vying for what they expect to be an expanded military drone market in 2014-2015, including Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SAIC, Israel Aerospace Industries and Textron. Says IBT:

​

Boeing has had a hand in the drone market for a number of years, mostly developing for the U.S. military. They have more recently been testing the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye drone, which Boeing says can stay at 65,000 feet for up to four days without refueling.
[General Atomics] is credited with building the Predator drone, the much-feared aircraft that saw action way back during the Balkans war, where the Americans lost two. Since then it’s been deployed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Iran and the Philippines. Last year, the company signed a deal to supply $197 million worth of drones to the United Arab Emirates....
Like Boeing, Lockheed is testing a drone—the Stalker—that can stay in the air for days at a time....
Founded only in 1994, Northrop has quickly risen to become one of the top suppliers of military hardware in the world. In 2012, the company sold $1.2 billion worth of drones to South Korea.
In other words, your military-industrial complex at work.

12 Companies That Will Conquer The Drone Market In 2014 and 2015

By Christopher Harress
on January 10 2014 6:06 AM
1. The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)

Boeing has had a hand in the drone market for a number of years, mostly developing for the U.S. military. They have more recently been testing the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye drone, which Boeing says can stay at 65,000 feet for up to four days without refueling.

The company, led by W. James McNerney, Jr., had revenues of $81.7 billion in 2012 and looks set to smash through that when 2013 results are announced later this year.

2. General Atomics

The San-Diego based company is credited with building the Predator drone, the much-feared aircraft that saw action way back during the Balkans war, where the Americans lost two. Since then it’s been deployed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Iran and the Philippines. Last year, the company signed a deal to supply $197 million worth of drones to the United Arab Emirates. In 2012, the company brought in more than $652 million in revenues.

3. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)

Like Boeing, Lockheed is testing a drone -- the Stalker -- that can stay in the air for days at a time. In 2012, the company brought in revenues of $47.2 billion.

4. Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

Founded only in 1994, Northrop has quickly risen to become one of the top suppliers of military hardware in the world. In 2012, the company sold $1.2 billion worth of drones to South Korea, but revenue has dropped to $25.1 billion in 2012 from $34 billion in 2011.

5. AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

AeroVironment is the company responsible for the “Hummingbird drone” ordered by the Pentagon. But the incredibly accurate little drone is capable of far more than just looking good. It has a tiny camera that can follow your every move. According to CEO Timothy Conver, revenue is expected to drop to $230 million in the upcoming fiscal year.

6. Prox Dynamics AS

The Norway-based company is really only famous for one product, but what a product it has become. They developed the Black Hornet Nano, a tiny hand-held helicopter that can help soldiers survey enemy areas quickly. It can fly at its top speed for up to 30 minutes at a time and cost the British Army $31 million to equip its various regiments with the drone.

7. Denel Dynamics

South Africa isn’t well known for its drones, but government-owned Denel has seen sales of its drones increase by 20 percent in 2013 because of the increased demand, according to the company, in the Middle East, East Asia and Africa.

8. SAIC

The company brought in $2.87 billion in revenue in 2012, up 3 percent from last year. Their specialty is building underwater drones for the Pentagon to defend against submarines.

9. Israel Aerospace Industries

IAI was pioneering drone use as far back as the 1970s, but the recent explosion in demand is making the company a real force in Israel and abroad. Revenues in 2011 were $3.44 billion.

10. Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT)

Appetite for military drones has pushed the company’s revenues toward nearly $13 billion. Their drones have proven so successful that the company has committed to building unmanned underwater vehicles.

11. General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

The company reported a $2 billion loss in January 2013, citing defense cuts. The company also happens to be one of the major donors to the Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus, known as the drone caucus.

12. DJI

The DJI Phantom is the drone of choice for filmmakers and is reported to be the most complete commercial drone on the market. The company has started pouring much of its resources into the U.S. market, betting that the FAA will relax rules in 2015.

12 Companies That Will Conquer The Drone Market In 2014 and 2015