JohnRich 4 #1 September 21, 2011 News:U.S. assembling secret drone bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula "The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said... "The U.S. government is known to have used drones to carry out lethal attacks in at least six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen..."Full story: Washington Post Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #2 September 21, 2011 Drones are pretty cost effective for a multitude of reasons and uses. Way less expensive than manned aircraft operations for many of the same uses and with no risk whatsoever to the pilot. I would expect to see wide support for this since it actually saves quite a bit of money.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #3 September 21, 2011 QuoteI would expect to see wide support for this since it actually saves quite a bit of money. What about all those folks who say that the only reason the terrorists are targeting us is because we occupy and attack their countries? And here we are with military bases in in six different muslim countries, and firing missiles against them. From that point of view, this seems like an escalation, that will only make the terrorists hate us even worse. At least that's the argument I see coming from one political segment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #4 September 21, 2011 QuoteQuoteI would expect to see wide support for this since it actually saves quite a bit of money. What about all those folks who say that the only reason the terrorists are targeting us is because we occupy and attack their countries? And here we are with military bases in in six different muslim countries, and firing missiles against them. From that point of view, this seems like an escalation, that will only make the terrorists hate us even worse. At least that's the argument I see coming from one political segment. Drones don't "occupy" countries and they certainly don't have to fire a single shot in order to be extremely useful. Ok, I'll admit there is some questionable legal status about overflying hostile countries, but certainly Somalia isn't going to gripe about it. Hell, I can almost guarantee they wouldn't even be able to detect them if they tried. In fact, I doubt there's anyone with the savvy to operate the equipment to do so even if they owned it. There simply isn't a government there. Yemen . . . maybe . . . maybe not, but my guess is the drones are a hell of a lot easier for us to deal with than doing recon with manned aircraft.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dks13827 3 #5 September 21, 2011 You mean the drones that are used also to zing a missle down onto a known bad guy ?? Great. I am all for that. The more the better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #6 September 21, 2011 Quote...but my guess is the drones are a hell of a lot easier for us to deal with than doing recon with manned aircraft. I... ...don't think the concern is about ISR. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fossg 0 #7 September 21, 2011 I have no problem with it, but so much for OPSEC... (operational security) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #8 September 21, 2011 QuoteI... ...don't think the concern is about ISR. Sure it is. Specifically in Somalia where things like the pirate situation are extremely fluid. We go up, we loiter . . . ok, maybe we take a shot if we know something for certain, but my guess is the main idea is just to keep track of what's going on. Yemen . . . hard to say . . . I doubt we're going to be attacking without good reason. Have you heard of some specific targets in Yemen giving us a good reason to release some Hellfire? Oh, I'm not naive, certainly they'll be armed. I just don't think the primary reason these drone bases are going in is for some sort first strike. We could certainly do that without bases at any moment. No. You put in bases for long term strategic goals like keeping watch over an area.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #9 September 21, 2011 I didn't speak one way or the other regarding the motive. I said I didn't think the concern was about ISR. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #10 September 21, 2011 QuoteI didn't speak one way or the other regarding the motive. I said I didn't think the concern was about ISR. And again, I think we're just differing on philosophical grounds there. I think in both Somalia and Yemen every camera we have available and every signal we can intercept is a welcome addition.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 18 #11 September 21, 2011 QuoteNews:U.S. assembling secret drone bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula "The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said... "The U.S. government is known to have used drones to carry out lethal attacks in at least six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen..."Full story: Washington Post He also has boots on the ground in Lybia Something he said would not happen A very few I know but none the less"America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
434 2 #12 September 21, 2011 What is the technical differences between a suicide bomber and a drone? Both kill innocent people! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gravitymaster 0 #13 September 21, 2011 QuoteWhat is the technical differences between a suicide bomber and a drone? Both kill innocent people! Suicide bomber specifically targets innocent civilians. The drone targets those who would kill innocent civilians. Without the drones, more innocent people would be killed by suicide bombers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonD1120 58 #14 September 21, 2011 QuoteNews:U.S. assembling secret drone bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula "The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said... "The U.S. government is known to have used drones to carry out lethal attacks in at least six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen..."Full story: Washington Post Also by supporting Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. IMOLook for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
434 2 #15 September 21, 2011 How do you know they target innocent civillian? And how do you know what muslims think about the American war on terror? Shia kills Sunni, and Sunni kills Shia, it have always been like that, but more or less in difference time periods. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gravitymaster 0 #16 September 21, 2011 QuoteHow do you know they target innocent civillian? And how do you know what muslims think about the American war on terror? Shia kills Sunni, and Sunni kills Shia, it have always been like that, but more or less in difference time periods. Because most of the people they kill are innocent civilians. Most of the places they detonate themselves in are market places and other areas where innocent civilians gather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #17 September 21, 2011 Quote Quote What is the technical differences between a suicide bomber and a drone? Both kill innocent people! Thicide bomber specifically targets innocent civilians. The drone targets those who would kill innocent civilians. Without the drones, more innocent people would be killed by suicide bombers. Psst .. your lithp is showing big fella Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #18 September 21, 2011 QuoteQuoteWhat about all those folks who say that the only reason the terrorists are targeting us is because we occupy and attack their countries? And here we are with military bases in in six different muslim countries, and firing missiles against them. From that point of view, this seems like an escalation, that will only make the terrorists hate us even worse. At least that's the argument I see coming from one political segment. Drones don't "occupy" countries and they certainly don't have to fire a single shot in order to be extremely useful. Ok, I'll admit there is some questionable legal status about overflying hostile countries... That doesn't change the fact that the muslims will view this as trespassing in their countries and killing fellow muslims in their countries. It seems that during the Bush presidency that this was argued as doing nothing more than to create more terrorist martyrs, and was actually making the problem worse. Yet now that Obama has expanded the attacks to include SIX muslim countries, all of a sudden the Obama supporters are all in favor of it. Go figure... I think their view of such things is more about political gamesmanship, than about actually fighting terrorists, so their opinion changes depending upon who is doing it. As for me, I'm for hunting the bastards down and killing them no matter where they hide. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
434 2 #19 September 21, 2011 The war on terror have been feeding the terrorist with good reasons to hate even more. War on terror should have finished Osama and Al quida nothing more or less. The balance in middle east was almost perfect. Everybody hated each other more than they hated the west but we needed to be sure we had their oil I guess. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,145 #20 September 21, 2011 You seem to be interchanging muslim and terrorist. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #21 September 21, 2011 QuoteYou seem to be interchanging muslim and terrorist. You seem to be confusing muslim countries and the subset of muslim terrorists within those countries. And the more America occupies muslim countries and attacks muslim terrorists, the more it will breed even more hatred and more terrorists, so the liberal argument goes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #22 September 22, 2011 QuoteYou seem to be interchanging muslim and terrorist. No he isn't. If the distinction isn't clear when you read the post you replied to, that's your problem, not John's. By the way, the reason I've been terse in this thread is because it sucks. There was a much more fruitful discussion about US drone usage a couple years ago. Speakers Corner has gone downhill since then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coreece 190 #23 September 22, 2011 QuoteYou seem to be interchanging muslim and terrorist. It doesn't matter these days...we live in a world of absolutes. If a politically discontent bomber claims he was baptized as an infant, then christianity is the scapegoat. If a politically discontent bomber read the koran, then Islam is the scapegoat.Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #24 September 22, 2011 QuoteIf a politically discontent bomber claims he was baptized as an infant, then christianity is the scapegoat. If a politically discontent bomber read the koran, then Islam is the scapegoat. Oh, please- who do you think you're talking to- Martians who've just arrived on Earth? Any adult who reads the news, watches TV or takes part in social conversation recognizes the disparity in how the two are commonly portrayed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coreece 190 #25 September 22, 2011 QuoteQuoteIf a politically discontent bomber claims he was baptized as an infant, then christianity is the scapegoat. If a politically discontent bomber read the koran, then Islam is the scapegoat. Oh, please- who do you think you're talking to- Martians who've just arrived on Earth? Any adult who reads the news, watches TV or takes part in social conversation recognizes the disparity in how the two are commonly portrayed. I don't know what to think anymore...he world has gone fuckin' mad... However, I do know that within the last month or so, you sorta agreed with me in how religion is just a scapegoat for political discontention...Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
