We are in the 21st century and we are getting better at killing more and more people. Now we do not need human beings to be in the front line. We are proud to present the drones. The killing of innocent civilians are just collateral damage. Now I present to you a very well researched article about US action in Pakistan.
After nine months of research and more than 130 interviews, in
what is being called one of the most exhaustive attempts by academics to
evaluate Washington’s drone wars, the Stanford and New York
universities’ law schools have finally put out a damning report.
According to the new study, just one in fifty victims of the CIA
program of “targeted” drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas are
known militants, while between 2,562 and 3,325 people were killed in
Pakistan between June 2004 and mid-September this year – of whom between
474 and 881 were civilians, including 176 children.
Based on these and other figures, the report calls the strikes
politically counterproductive and damaging, concluding they have killed
innocent civilians, ruined the local economy, undermined respect for
international law and left the people of the tribal areas
psychologically battered, constantly living under the daily threat of
annihilation from the air.
The report especially focuses on children becoming collateral damage
of strikes, and comes down particularly hard on the common tactic of the
“double-tap” strike where initial strikes are followed up by further
missiles, killing an even greater number of civilians, and putting fear
into the hearts of rescuers who often wait for hours before daring to
visit the scene of an attack.
You can read all the
article here.
Now we in the free world has a new toy called the Sea Drone. it is an underwater toy which responses to a computer in a far far away land. Are you getting excited now. I tell you this one costs a lot of money.If you want to buy one you can always contact this place: T
he Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Here it is:
Nice init?
The US Navy is currently experimenting with a new breed of drone
submarines in the waters next to Newport, Rhode Island. Their hope is
that these drones will take the first steps (or the first doggy paddle,
if you will) into a future of autonomous submarines.
These drones, which are technically known as Unmanned Underwater
Vehicles (of course) could be a “game changer” for the Navy, said
Christoper Egan, a program manager at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Every single thing that makes aerial drones so effective can just as easily be applied to submarines.
One of the biggest advantages is size — if you have a pilot in a
submarine, then you automatically have a minimum size requirement. You
need a control system, air, and a supply of food and water if you expect
the submarine to remain submerged for days at a time. Once you remove a
person from a submarine, you can shrink the submersible down to the
size of, say, an adult tuna or a torpedo. That makes for more efficient,
stealthier submarines that cost only a fraction of the cost of a
conventional one-man submersible.
These drones
could be used to map the ocean floor, detect enemy mines, gather
surveillance, or assist in anti-submarine warfare. For example, one
clever little drone is the Razor, which uses stealthy, flipper-like
devices to drift through the ocean, kind of like a sea turtle. The Navy
hopes that the Razor would be virtually undetectable by enemy systems.
I plucked above from
this article.
So as stated it is for peaceful work for us humans as well as the oceans. Oceanographers are clapping their hands and shouting"Bravo". But we war like people do not stop there. They state in the article something called the Razor. That cannot be detected by the enemy. May be they are thinking about sharks and big whales. No my friend there is more to it than that. We introduce to you The Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV).
The LDUUV will have a large payload bay, making it capable of
releasing sensors, communication buoys, smaller UUS and weapons. The
Navy's current emphasis is on persistent surveillance “over the
horizon.” However, its most significant impact could be in mine warfare,
both offensive and defensive.
In the counter-mine role, the
LDUUV will be able to detect and locate mines, then engage and
neutralize them safely. And the LDUUV could make offensive mine laying
more controllable and clandestine. In the transformational mine concept,
the LDUUV lays networked sensors across a wide area. These track and
identify every vessel within range. Depending on the situation, any
vessel can be engaged, by either an anchored weapon or a torpedo from
the UUV itself. The advantage of using an LDUUV is that the minefield
can be switched on or off, or changed in size. It can be emplaced in
advance, and never activated. De-mining and clear-up do not pose the
major problem that they do with traditional mines.
The Navy plans
to release a request for proposals for the LDUUV in 2014. Last October
Rear Adm. Barry Bruner, the Navy's undersea warfare director, indicated
that up to 10 LDUUVs would be procured. The LDUUV is being pitched as a
helper to complement manned submarines. However, if it achieves the
technology goals for endurance and autonomy, it will pose serious
questions of what exactly large unmanned craft could not ultimately do.
I pay respect to
this article
Here is a map of the seas around Middle East.
Straight of Hormuz is a narrow shipping lane, just 34 k wide at the narrowest point. each side of authority has 3 k and a buffer zone of 3k. Iran has laid mines in the area and in 1988, one of which injured 10 when it blew a hole in the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Robert. So last month (September 2012)there was a big Naval Exercise in the seas around Iran.
The admiral in charge of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet on Thursday
defended the large American-led naval exercises in the Persian Gulf and
other strategic Mideast waterways as a way to ensure stability and
security in the region, rebutting Iran’s concerns about what it sees as
foreign military meddling.
More than 30 countries are involved in the anti-mine exercises.
Although the Navy says the maneuvers are purely defensive and not
directed at any country, they are widely seen as a message to Iranian
officials who have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth
of the Gulf.
Yes I found these article,
one, two.
Then we connect the dots from far far above this blog about the underwater drones.
The USS Ponce is to serve as a “staging and command post for mine hunting operations”. USS Ponce (See above) is also carrying an “underwater drone” . “The BAE Systems Plc (BA/) 25mm guided ‘‘Mark 38 Mod 2,”
and Kingfish unmanned underwater vehicle are among the programs the
Pentagon this year accelerated under a “Fast Lane” initiative to counter
Iranian naval weapons. One of the most serious threats, the Navy says,
are Iranian speedboats that can employ “swarming” tactics.” (Bloomberg, September 19, 2012)
There are questions about all this when we read this bit in
that article.
These war games serve essentially two related purposes.
1. To threaten and intimidate Iran with a massive display of military might.
2. To deliberately create conditions within proximity of Iran’s territorial waters, which could lead to a Gulf of Tonkin type incident. The latter would involve military provocation conducive to confrontation and/or response by Iran. This incident, would in turn provide a justification for attacking Iran on the grounds of self-defense.
The unspoken objective of warship diplomacy is to trigger an all out war. The objective is to portray Iran as the aggressor, as a threat to peace and security. Already insinuations abound in the Western media to the effect that Iran may attempt to “draw the Americans into a conflict”. Confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz is part of the simulations and scenarios contemplated by US and allied military planners:
“Western leaders are convinced that Iran will retaliate to any attack by attempting to mine or blockade the shipping lane through which passes around 18 million barrels of oil every day, approximately 35 per cent of the world’s oil traded by sea.” (Ibid )
I am not trying to scare people but it would be wise for all to consider not having any arms for attacking other countries. Ah yes we can always have some arms for defense, yes?
I thank this well researched article by
Julie Lévesque
Global Research, September 28, 2012
