I have a bad feeling about who the US is blowing to smithereens with Hellfire missiles from drones

[NNN0LHI]

I just can't shake the thought that the people we are raining death upon are people identified as bad people by someone while they were being tortured.

They just gave a name. Any name they could think of to get the pain to stop.

And now using that info we are firing Hellfire Missiles at someones house.

Who else could these people be? Got any better ideas?

Don

[Dreamer Tatum]

1. The drones usually work differently

They send TV images back to a control room, or they use satellite images, and the guys with the joysticks decide who to kill based on criteria + any intel they think they have. I don't like the practice, since it is known to have killed innocents.

[atreides1]

3. Sort of Like Profiling

[Dreamer Tatum]

4. Obama could shut down use of drones with a single phone call

So we must be getting something good out of it.

[NNN0LHI]

5. But what kind of intel are they using to determine who they should be looking for?

Thats the problem here.

Can we trust any information that was more than likely tortured out of someone?

We had people being tortured by the Chicago police into confessing to crimes they weren't guilty of even though they knew they were going to be put to death for it.

I don't think we can trust any intel that was gathered during the Bush regime of torture.

Thats the problem here.

Don

[Igel]

6. A few different kinds.

Sometimes it's from people who just turn in information--because somebody's hurt a relative, because they disagree with the politics, because they've been bribed. Whatever.

Sometimes it's from interrogations.

Sometimes the Pak government probably provides the info, from whatever source.

Sometimes it's from communications intercepts, we've been told.

Sometimes it's from tracking a person, by drone or by satellite: You know X is at a rally so you follow X by aerial camera to where he lives. Or you know there was a funeral or a meeting, and you see who shows up and follow them back.

Sometimes it's from monitoring behavior: You see a lot of trucks with groups of militants in them going and coming from a house, it's likely to house somebody that you don't want around any longer. If you see a group of trucks with small groups of militants all arrive, ditto.

Sometimes the information is hideously wrong. Sometimes it's dead-on, so to speak. I doubt they just use one information source if there's much doubt; not that the absence of doubt means you're correct.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. In much the same way tornadoes seem to target trailer parks...

I think drones target wedding parties and funeral processions.

[blues90]

7. The entire thing with the bombs and drones is fucked up thinking

This planet will never advance until everyone across the globe gets rid of all their prised weapons.

Now that so many countries have them one day one of them will take to the idea the US did when we bombed Japan. Only now it will explode into the war to end all life.