U.S. Drones Patrolling Its Skies Provoke Outrage in Iraq
A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.
The program was described by the departments diplomatic security branch in a little-noticed section of its most recent annual report and outlined in broad terms in a two-page online prospectus for companies that might bid on a contract to manage the program. It foreshadows a possible expansion of unmanned drone operations into the diplomatic arm of the American government; until now they have been mainly the province of the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency.
American contractors say they have been told that the State Department is considering plans to field unarmed surveillance drones in a handful of other potentially high-threat countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, and in Afghanistan after the bulk of American troops leave in the next two years. State Department officials say that no decisions have been made beyond the drone operations in Iraq.
The drones are the latest example of the State Departments efforts to take over functions in Iraq that the military used to perform. Some 5,000 private security contractors now protect the embassys 11,000-person staff, for example, and typically drive around in heavily armored military vehicles.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/world/middleeast/iraq-is-angered-by-us-drones-patrolling-its-skies.html?pagewanted=all
Solly Mack
(90,758 posts)wtmusic
(39,166 posts)RC
(25,592 posts)Can anyone imagine if any other country tried to fly their drones in this country for surveillance purposes?
cstanleytech
(26,230 posts)Last edited Mon Jan 30, 2012, 03:03 AM - Edit history (1)
Assuming of course you really want an answer because for all you know the US might have his approval if the US agreed to share the intel with the government of Iraq.
As for other countries spying on us....they already do really with satellites and it wouldnt surprise in the least to learn that they have also been using private airplanes as well to gather some intel on us.
RC
(25,592 posts)That, plus the fact other countries have protested drone plights over their own country.
cstanleytech
(26,230 posts)Phoonzang
(2,899 posts)I'm not saying it's right...just that the victors in a war usually get some rights over the losers (military bases in Germany, Italy, Japan). If you want to call that clusterfuck a victory...
bvar22
(39,909 posts)And, of course, Iran,
who have a "crashed" US predator Drone on display.
Gee, it seems that nobody appreciates US Drones (Skynet) flying over their countries,
spying on their people,
and distributing Freedom Bombs on their countries.
What the HELL is the matter with Those People?
cstanleytech
(26,230 posts)own territory though and are lying about it being sent to spy on them.