If we won't question the use of predator drones, maybe the British will

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Revealed: UK's role in deadly CIA drone

Targeted assassinations by Predators break international law, says Amnesty International

Sunday January 29, 2006
The Observer
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,15935,1697606,00.html?gusrc=rss

{snips}

A British technology company and a secretive airforce base in Cambridgeshire are playing a key role in the CIA's use of robot Predator planes, deployed to assassinate suspected terrorists overseas,The Observer can reveal.

A missile fired from a Predator killed more than 20 innocent people in Pakistan earlier this month in a botched US bid to kill Ayman al Zawahiri, the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, and similar attacks have been made in Iraq, Yemen and on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The revelation that Britain is involved in the Predator programme is likely to prove controversial. Amnesty International and the Liberal Democrats said they would press the government to uncover the truth about the UK's role in the programme and whether or not British firms should be allowed to supply components for the weapon.

The Observer has discovered that the computer 'brains' of the unmanned Predators are made in Towcester, Northamptonshire, by Radstone Technology. The firm manufactures the computer boards that control the drones and enable the CIA to target top al-Qaeda suspects. Predators are controlled remotely by satellite and a joystick. When a target is identified, the Predators fire a Hellfire missile.

full article: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,15935,1697606,00.html?gusrc=rss

related:

U.S. expands secret Predator program
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3449262?source=rss

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1. Radstone Technology, the company helping the US predator program

does 64% of its business with the US.

$7.2m profit

Backlog of $110m

Usual military industrial allies (the same ones that infect our government)

US-

LOCKHEED MARTIN

NORTHROP GRUMMAN

RAYTHEON COMPANY

UK-

L-3 COMMUNICATIONS

GENERAL DYNAMICS

BOEING

GENERAL ATOMICS

http://www.radstone.com/home/rad_home.aspx

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2. Radstone rises

Profits rise at Radstone

By Colin Holland
EETUK.com
13 November 2003 (10:07 a.m. GMT)

London, UK — Embedded computer products supplier, Radstone Technology, which specialises in supplying the defence and aerospace sector increased its profit before taxation in the six months ended 30 September 2003 by 74% to £1.18m on turnover of £18.5 million.

The figure includes a contribution from Interactive Circuits and Systems (ICS) which was acquired at the beginning of September and gross profit margin increased to 41.6% which the company says shows the effects of sales of higher margin rugged products into major programmes.

In the first six months of the year Radstone introduced seven products including the RT4PowerPact CompactPCI computer system, the IMPCC1 3U CompactPCI carrier card for PMC modules and the PMCGA3 high performance graphics board. These products enable Radstone to target the growing COTS avionics market where space is at a premium. During September the ICS subsidiary introduced the ICS-572 14-bit software radio product, combining both receive and transmit functions in one PMC module.

The electronic manufacturing services division, Foundation Technology, saw sale drop almost 8% below last year. In early July, the Towcester operation of the EMS business completed its move in to new premises in Milton Keynes.

http://www.eetuk.com/bus/news/OEG20031113S0003

[rustydog]

3. Are these like the drones Bush swore that Saddam posessed?

Seems like we are using the WMD's Bush tried to warn us that Saddam posessed and was unafraid to unleash on innocent people.

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4. you mean the 'drones of death'?

good point.

Saddam's were bugaboo, ours are a deadly hypocricy.