Download Briefing for Week of Action 1 -8 October
The Drone War in Numbers
Civilians reported killed: 391 – 780
Children reported killed: 175
Total strikes: 309
Obama strikes: 257
According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
175 children killed in just 309 lethal strikes
“Even one child death from drone missiles or suicide bombings is one child death too many. Children have no place in war and all parties should do their utmost to protect children from violent attacks at all times.” Sarah Crowe, UNICEF
Remote Killiing of Civilians
The US has used armed drones in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya and Somalia. There are already around 60 military and CIA bases around the world connected to the drone programme and more are being planned. Read more
The UK is currently using armed drones in Afghanstan.
Israel has used armed drones against Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and Palestine
175 children have already been killed by US drones, 160 of them in Pakistan. Read more
Pakistani civilian victims vent anger over US drones
In regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan children are having to live with the fear that they could be killed at any point in time by unmanned drones patroling the sky.
Drone Attack on Girls School (North Waziristan)
Read more by Kathy Kelly…
The Indefensible Drones: A Ground Zero Reflection
Watch Youtube video
US Drone Attacks in Pakistan – Murad Khan Aljazeera
2010, The Year of Assassination by Drones
Photos from an attack on Darpa Khel village, North Waziristan August 2009 [Reuters]
The graph below shows how suicide bombing in Pakistan is almost directly proportional to the drone attacks, rather than drone attacks lessening the chance of suicide bombings as claimed by the US. Read more
Drone wars expanding into Africa
The US use of drones is helping to extend the war on terror into Africa whilst evading accountability to congress under the provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. For example, US operations in Libya have not involved “…sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve U.S. ground troops.”
Thus war is not war if US troops are not in the line of fire. The Obama administration is devising a new tactic – that of long-range missiles and the increasing use of the CIA and Joint Service Operations Command (JSOC) to conduct drone strikes and be the invisible army on the ground.
Risk-Free And Above The Law: U.S. Globalizes Drone Warfare
America’s Secret Empire of Drone Bases
U.S. Establishes New Drone Bases for African Shadow Wars
What are drones?
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They are aircraft which are either controlled by pilots on the ground, often thousands of miles away from the action, or are programmed to function autonomously without any direct human control. Drones can be used for reconnaisance and surveillance or to drop missiles and bombs.
Pilotless aircraft have been experimented with since the World War I. The first ‘aerial torpedo’ was the Kettering Bug first flown in 1918 but developed too late to be of use in the war. By World War II, radio-controlled surveillance and assault drones had been developed by the US Navy. In 1942 an assualt drone successfully delivered a torpedo attack from a distance of 20 miles but their utililisation remained limited. The use of drones for reconnaissance took off during the Vietnam war but it was the 1980s which saw a significant development in their military use. The Predator RQ-1L, made by General Atomics was deployed in the Balkans in 1995, in Iraq in 1996 and Afghanistan from 2001. This was followed by the development of the Reaper, (also known as Predator B) which became operational in 2007.
MQ-9 Reaper Hunter/Killer UAV
The drones used in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq are controlled from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada which is home to the 432d Wing pilots who fly the MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft in support of US and Coalition troops.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Air Force Senior William Swain operates a sensor control for an MQ-9 Reaper during a training mission on Aug. 8, 2007, at Creech Air Force Base.
The drones are used for three main purposes: to support ground troops under attack by launching missiles and bombs from the air; giving a 24 hr a day surveillance of the ground and observing the ‘pattern of life’; to conduct targetted killings.
Watch Youtube video
The CIA also, reportedly, controls a fleet of drones from its headquarters in Langley, Virginia, in coordination with pilots near hidden airfields in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The drones are reportedly flown by civilians, including both intelligence officers and private contractors (often retired military personal) and the list of targets approved by senior Government personnel, although the criteria for inclusion and all other aspects ofthe program are unknown. The CIA is not required to identify its target by name; rather, targeting decisions may be based on surveillance and “pattern of life” assessments.
U.S. Legal Adviser Harold Koh Asserts Drone Warfare Is Lawful Self-Defense Under International Law
US Deadly Drone Attacks-News Analysis-10-16-2011
Robotic killing
Drones are increasing the remote and robotic nature of modern hi-tech warfare. They are encouraging a ‘playstation mentality’ amongst the troops where killing is simply watching the movement of figures or vehicles on the ground, pushing a button and seeing them engulfed in an explosion plume. There is a huge margin of error, often because of faulty intelligence, and civilian casualties are mounting. According to Pakistan bodycount, 2867 people have been killed or injured by drones in Pakistan alone, with a 2.5% success rate against Al-Qaida. Figures for Afganistan and Iraq are unknown. There is also no measure for the terror and psychological damage being done to the millions of children and adults who are in the constant sights of these unmanned systems.
The Weapons
The MQ-9 Reaper carries a variety of weapons including the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles (including the Thermobaric version AGM- 114N), the AIM-9 Sidewinder and recently, the GBU-38 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) Testing is underway to support the operation of the AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missile. The Reaper can remain for 14 – 16 hours in the air.
UK use of drones
The Royal Air Force operates General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, carrying GBU-12 Paveway 11 precision guided bimbs and AGM-14 Hellfire air to surface missiles. The Government is refusing to disclose how many of the 84 Hellfire missiles launched from Reaper drones have been the AGM-14N (thermobaric) missiles.
- There have now been over 190 drone strikes in Afghanistan by British Reaper crews
- Hellfire missiles are three times more likely to be uses than the 500lb bomb
A second RAF drones squadron is to be based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire in 2012. RAF pilots will control the Reaper drones currently flying in Afghanistan from there rather than from the US Air Force base Creech in Nevada as they do at present. The UK Reaper capability will be doubled to 10 aircraft.
Watchkeeper
The WK450 Watchkeeper UAV is a collaboration between Thales UK and Elbit. It will be deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. It is currently unarmed but this could change at a later date. In the meantime it will be used by the Royal Artillery along with a ‘loitering munition’ prowler bomb - a bomb which is fired up into the sky where it can loiter for up to ten hours until it is given the signal to plunge.
Thales UK provides interim tactical UAV services using unarmed Hermes 450s leased from the Israeli firm Elbit.
Drones and Death: The Israeli Connection
BAE Systems are also developing their own armed UAV, Taranis, named after the Celtic god of thunder.
Watch Youtube video
New UAV \’Taranis\’ Unveiled For Ministry Of Defense
The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems pdf Ministry of Defence, March 2011
Future of UK\’s largest missile range secure says MoD
Drones an answer to peak oil?
The military in the US and UK are well aware of the need to shift from major oil dependency. The Pentagon is currently the largest single oil consumer in the world. Solar powered drones are part of the solution.
Solar powered Unmanned Aircraft
Further information and campaign groups
Bro Emlyn for Peace and Justice
