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2013-02-11 Home Front: WoT
The Silence of the Drones
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Posted by Beavis 2013-02-11 08:40|| || Front Page|| [1 views ]  Top

#1 Together the president and the spook oversaw a stealth war, and the president became his own targeting officer. (Obama going over kill lists recalls President Lyndon Johnson's poring over the map of Khe Sanh in search of bombing targets in Vietnam;

Similar outcomes can be predicted as well.
Posted by Besoeker 2013-02-11 09:25||   2013-02-11 09:25|| Front Page Top

#2 I suppose what bothers me is not so much the drone program itself -- although there's a debate to be had there -- as putting the drone program in the hands of a man who already thinks he's God Almighty and has a personal enemies list.
Posted by Matt 2013-02-11 09:54||   2013-02-11 09:54|| Front Page Top

#3 How good is the intelligence that enables the targeting of a particular individual. How good is the ability to identify a person from a drone? I don't know--just asking?

I don't have a particular problem of using drones overseas to target enemies who are stateless, don't wear uniforms, and are uninhibited in their attacks on us abroad. Champ has been hypocritical on this program but came around to embrace it enthusiastically. Should he have checks and balances on him?

What would anyone think if such a program were used domestically? I can see some perp who has robbed a convenience store and murdered the clerk or owner heading down an L.A. freeway. There are the numerous police cars chasing the perp. The helicopters are overhead. An armed drone is overhead. I can hear the radio dialogue now. Car on the ground to targeter: "You got a clear shot at the perp?" Targeter: "Yeah, I got him lined up." Helicopter to targeter: "Confirm, you got a clear shot at the perp?" Targeter: "Check, I got him sighted up." The go-ahead is given for the targeter to take him {the perp] out. To Targeter: "Take him out when ready." The drone releases its missile, and the perp is incinerated on the freeway. Is this an appropriate scenario? The Targeter and the police are given the go-ahead to act as judge, jury, and executioneer to resolve the problem. Is this different than a police sniper acting to stop a situation? What if collateral damage occurs or a case of mistaken identity occurs?
Posted by JohnQC 2013-02-11 14:51||   2013-02-11 14:51|| Front Page Top

#4 a case of Mistaken Identity, will make either the victim, or their Heirs wealthy.
Posted by Redneck Jim 2013-02-11 15:38||   2013-02-11 15:38|| Front Page Top

#5 JohnQC, if we started routinely drone-zapping drivers fleeing police I suspect people would stop fleeing police - or certainly stop doing it twice.
Posted by Glenmore 2013-02-11 15:41||   2013-02-11 15:41|| Front Page Top

#6 #3 How good is the intelligence that enables the targeting of a particular individual. How good is the ability to identify a person from a drone? I don't know--just asking?

Persistent Surveillance imagery [Single Source Intelligence derived from a UAV] must generally be combined with other intelligence disciplines to make positive identifications of the kind you are inquiring.

Example: If Muktar rides a red Honda motorcycle and is known to visit his uncle's house [at a known location] on a certain day of the week, at a certain time, a so-called "pattern of life" can be developed.

If Human Intelligence Sources [HUMINT] reports that Muktar's uncle is expecting him to visit today, and he actually does, then your Pattern of Life on Muktar has enjoyed a 'one time' validation. If over time you record multiple visits by Muktar to his uncle, validated by multiple HUMINT reports, and a similar number of sightings from a drone..... your pattern of life becomes both accurate and predictable.

If, in addition of HUMINT reporting and UAV or Drone Imagery, other Special Intelligence reporting can be linked to Muktar's visits, then you have Positive Identification via Multiple Sources. Your reporting can now be classified as Actionable Intelligence.

Generally speaking, Positive Identification requires multiple intelligence or All Source reporting. An exception might be Muktar leaving his uncle's house and riding to a cave where he meets two other armed personnel engaged in a nefarious activity such as the construction or emplacement of roadside bombs. In Afghanistan and Iraq, this type of activity could easily make Muktar and his colleagues targetable.

Note: The term "Actionable Intelligence" should not automatically be equated to targeting alone. Among other activities, Actionable Intelligence can lead to contact, monitoring, solicitation for recruitment, and detention.


Posted by Besoeker 2013-02-11 16:23||   2013-02-11 16:23|| Front Page Top

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