need to add title here

America's New Air Force

May 10, 2009 4:17 PM

Increasingly, the U.S. military is relying on un-manned aircraft to track and destroy the enemy, sometimes controlled from bases thousands of miles away from the battlefront. Lara Logan reports.

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by oldpilot78 August 7, 2009 10:19 AM EDT
The segment that made me feel the best about the UAV was the last one. A squad of infantry was able to bed down for much needed rest while their eye in the sky was keeping the wolves away. Only a small percentage of sorties have ever launched an attack and only after careful evaluation. They use proportional response methods to minimize civilian injury, usually on the ground verification of the target and the situation. They are in constant contact with the exact unit they are supporting and know all the risks.
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by BlackEye77 May 27, 2009 2:00 AM EDT
America?s New Airfarce ? a 60 Minutes Secret Exclusive!



I have seen some lame shows purporting to be based on news reporting, but this has to be the worst. Hosted by USC song girl wanna be, Laura Logan, who sat with rapt attention in awe and wonder listening to the droning of U.S. Air force personnel, it?s no wonder the propaganda arm of the USAF gave 60 minutes the red carpet for their ?secret? access. Free advertisement for the ?new? recruits mentioned toward the end of the ?report.?

Gosh, as a taxpayer, I am thrilled to learn of our military ?progress.? Another oxymoron like military intelligence. We should be so proud that such ?innovation? is made in the U.S.A ? after all, arms are our number one export (after torture victims). The further away from man-to-man combat you get, the easier it is to perpetuate the constant ?war? paradigm.

Doesn?t ?fighting wars? by remote control strike any of the brainiacs featured on this episode as sci-fi right out of the Terminator and 1984? Those books/films are written as WARNINGS, not as blueprints for the success of humanity. Is this really the way you want to live? Don?t you find the thinking behind all of this primitive and a bit ironic for you to sell it as ?progress?? The evolution of military hardware is the de-evolution of man. Do you really support endless conflict with ever-newer, more expensive weapons as the resolution?

In our non-democratic system of government run by a duopoly of dupes, why do you celebrate giving these anti-heroes favorable airtime? Both media-sanctioned parties can?t say, ?support the troops? enough. Heroes fight for our freedom? Military personnel of all sovereignties are the lowest common denominator, the last line of defense against corrupt politicians. Glorification of grunts is a con to get the emotionally unstable, financially disadvataged, and politically naïve to enlist. Do you think anyone with the wisdom beyond a 4th grader buys that ?heroic? crap? Only the simple-minded rote-learners. Are they ?warriors? or wimps? What would the invaders of Troy say? Stay-at-home suburban soldiers for a country not under attack. Is this what Al Gore meant by sprawl? Can you imagine what George Washington would think? This is progress?

Do you keep manipulating language so that you can believe your own lies? We are at ?war?? We are NOT at ?war.? We are an occupying force. ?Insurgents? and ?enemies? are the patriots of those old civilizations we are so bent on destroying. We are told by you and the drones, like laugh-it-up ?fly?boy, church-going Goff, you that ?those? are ?the bad guys.? Actually, as presented, YOU are the ?bad? guys. You are glorifying detached ethics, not unlike those of Wall Street.

I wonder what Ike would say about your unfettered cheerleading for the expansion of the military-industrial complex. How long before our government starts aiming those million-dollar cameras on their own citizens (if they haven?t already)? Don?t you think Morrow would be sick with this kind of uncritical approach to a story? This embarrassing episode in ?journalism? certainly parallels the rest of the junk reality shows that are paying the bills for your profit-first /civic-duty-last policy. Thomas would be Pained.

On the plus side, after Logan?s breathless ad campaign, Katie Couric seemed seasoned during her pal-around with ?Secretary of War? Gates . Is there a more cynical, vapid, vacuous individual in the ?new? cabinet? Is this who we have become? The press as cheerleaders for mindless, soulless bureaucrats whose only job is keeping their job? Talk about The Ugly Americans.

Maybe you should just let Morley lead with the pap smears and go straight to the sagacity of Andy. In the spirit of reality TV, maybe you will let us mourn while they die live on the air?gosh, ain?t death grand.
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by number1GI May 18, 2009 4:15 PM EDT
RE: UAV's..... Again all the stories are about the pilots.
Let it be be known: that untill the crew chief releases the plane or in this case the drone(s) for flight that pilot ain't got nothing but a dead stick to play with.
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by origtartuffe May 17, 2009 9:25 PM EDT
This weeks 60 Minutes Gates said during a speech at Texas A&M, "Since the hour I was sworn in as Secretary of Defense, 1,327 American men and women in uniform have been killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan; 10,443 have been wounded. Each of them is in my thoughts and prayers every day."

Which jibes with his callousness re civilian and "non-American" deaths. Even tho a 100 to a 1000 times more Iraqi's and Af-Paks have and will die, they aren't even considered let alone given honorable mention even in passing. It's that kind of arrogance to makes us hated - universally. Gates fit hand-in-glove with Cheney/Bush, and now (sadly) with Obama's war.

The M-I oligarchy appreciates his empirical disregard and disdain as it recruits al Gaeda and sustains the conflict.

Go long in defense stocks. They're already easing the case for sustaining Iraq. Couric is helping the cause with her war mongering orthodoxy palaver. She likes the travel. Apparently wants to return.
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by truthforhumanity May 17, 2009 2:10 PM EDT
The unmanned vehicles are a quantum leap in war technology, no doubt. But why are we there? 9/11, you say? Americans
need to wake up from their Prozac stupor and examine, with a modicum of critical thinking, the events of 9/11. Up till a year ago, I believed the official story that we were attacked by Muslim terrorists. After extensive investigation online, it has become apparent that the events of that day were a huge psy-op by rouge elements of the government. It was too sophisticated to be pulled off by 19 guys with box cutters. Think about it. I realize it may go against everything we were raised to believe and accept, but check it out for yourself. It is every American?s duty to seek out the truth?it will shake you to the core because of its implications, but hear me out?please.
There were numerous cases of false flag terrorism by the government, most importantly Operation Northwoods?a plan to remotely fly US planes and blow them up?fact. Google it!

Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth (ae911truth.org) has an online presentation showing the physics of what happened to the WTC buildings in NYC were not possible, only to be explained by controlled demolition. Samples of WTC dust have proven that thermite/thermate, an explosive cutter charge, was used to bring down the buildings. The planes? impact and jet fuel could not have caused the collapse of the two WTC buildings (missing 1000 degrees F to melt steel)
Nevermind
building #7 that was not hit by a plane and collapsed in the manner of controlled demolition at 5:20pm that afternoon.

These are only a few facts regarding the mistruths promulgated by the official story of 9/11. The 9/11 Commission Report was a total whitewash that was not at all impartial, and which distorted or omitted many important aspects of the events of that fateful day.
We owe it to our troops especially to know the truth behind why we are in Iraq and Afgh
anistan. Where are the WMDs?
The terrorists
hate us because of our freedoms? How about the Patriot act?
A true patriot questions government, not blindly accepts it.
The first amendment and habeus corpus used to be nice,
but rights are being eroded. It all comes back to the question of 9/11?and the war on terrorism. When did congress declare war?
Critical thinking, people. Check out the following:
www.ae911truth.org
www.911revisited.com
www.infowars.com
David Ray Griffin?s book The New Pearl Harbor.

Feedback on my comments is welcome, but personal attacks on
me
as a free thinking individual are not. I?m not a nutcase. Thank you for your consideration.
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by graces711 May 17, 2009 2:22 AM EDT
Our adventurism in Pakistan and Afghanistan should be referred to as Viet Stan, to remind Americans of the price we are likely to pay.

This PR piece fails to note that many experts claim the percentage of suspected militants killed is only 2%. That means we are killing an awful lot of innocents in the process, assuming their targets are indeed militants and not just the enemies of a warlord that is getting paid for info.
How do we win friends this way and will the Air Force"s good name soon gain the taint of Dresden or Vietnam?
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by origtartuffe May 14, 2009 12:31 AM EDT
Hey PhlankSpeed, we're on their turf, not they on ours. But doubtless we'll bring it about (again) some day.

Even with a missile on Wall St. that merely unfurls the word "Bang" investors innards will turn to water and their investments vaporized. Even Obama's smooth tongue will not be able to placate the panic overlaid atop our already stricken economy.

Arrogance is cheap - untill the bill arrives. But we excell, eh?
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by PhlankSpeed May 13, 2009 7:31 PM EDT
Advances the mission at reduced risk to American lives.

I'm tired of terrorists being able to lurk unseen here there and everywhere. Turnabout is fair play. Hope this turns their guts to water, just before it turns them to vapor.
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by origtartuffe May 13, 2009 4:37 PM EDT
fbohanan2 says, "War isn't not fun nor is it fair and yes sometimes mistakes are made and innocent people are killed. This happens not because the one taking the life are cold and evil its the situation they are put in."

Well said. Now ask whose responsible for the "the situation they are put in?" You can bet the farm that they haven't donned your fighting boots, had to make (immediate) life and death decisions, but they are ones that are cold and evil, as it's all done for their bottom line. Namely, the M-I oligarchs.

Don't scoff too quickly. Remember the Raytheon lobbyist exempted by Obama re limiting their reach? Dick Durbin declaring the lobbyists owned the place - he was referring to the financial lobbyists. The point - lobbyists (i.e. Money) runs our system. Elst the bought and purchased enabling legislation to capsize the financial system would not have happened.

We will leave hopefully some day (declaring victory of course). But sadly we will leave with a net gain in hatred and dedicated anti-American terrorists. A real-time loss. A la Iraq. When we discontinue our (extorted) payments to the Sunnis, Iraq will deteriorate back to its natural level like water. The neocon M-I oligarch will gladly try to rekindle our involvement to remain in Iraq - indefinitely. Go long in defense stocks.

Nice insight Nathan_Yawhoo.
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by Nathan_Yawhoo May 13, 2009 12:42 PM EDT
You weren't fighting for freedom! You were being USED! As Henry Kissinger put it,
military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy.

I am a veteran too, I just wised up [like old Smedley Butler] and decided I wasn't going
to be used to support American imperialism - The war on Terror is bogus!
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by fbohanan2 May 13, 2009 10:17 AM EDT
i have read some of these comments and it saddens me to read what people have to think that in this country. First i am a army vet and have put my life on the line there and have seen first hand what its like there. and let me tell you that you have no idea what its like there or the decisions that you have to make not only to save your life but the life of others. War isn't not fun nor is it fair and yes sometimes mistakes are made and innocent people are killed. This happens not because the one taking the life are cold and evil its the situation they are put in. It hard to look at 500 people that all have weapons all dressed in regular cloths and not knowing witch one is going to kill you. we as a county need to stand behind our men ,women, and weapon systems there and support them in the good decisions as well as the bad ones they make and stop trying to say oh they made a mistake they killed someone that was good. I challenge anyone of you that thinks that to take the oath we did put on our boots and see if you can do any better! oh what is that you say... you dont want to give up your plush life with your good job and you new house and BMW??? thats what i thought.... so get off there case and show some respect for the people that put up there life and give up there life so you can sit here and criticize them! So to all you brave americans and others in this fight with us.... god bless you all dont give up and trust us there are plenty of us that respect you and stand behind you 100% good or bad right or wrong! And i dont remember on 9/11/2001 that the high jackers let out the passengers of the planes they used as bombs and called the world trade center to let them know they would be landing on the 60th floor and to make sure everyone of our "innocent" people get out safe....do you?
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by Nathan_Yawhoo May 13, 2009 3:38 AM EDT
A good propaganda piece! 60 Minutes you got snookered! These drones don't make
mistakes? I recall a few years a drone fired on a "tall" man walking through the desert
thinking it was bin Laden. It wasn't. And how about all those 600+ Pakistani civilians
killed by drones? Heck, this is like a teenager playing a video game - sitting there in
front of a console zapping images [people] from 7000 miles away!

Even if these things are as accurate as they claimed, how do we know they'll never be
used against American "disidents" along with mass surveillance, the big new ray gun,
and all the new tortue techniques they've been testing in Gitmo.
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by Sweet_Blue_Eyez May 13, 2009 12:45 AM EDT
Honestly you have to look at the big picture, this thing we call "life".
These aircrafts are helping us (Americans) fight the war on terrorism to ensure we keep those freedoms that we enjoy so much and sometimes take for granted.

So with this segment we are letting the world know that you don't mess with the USA, cause we build stuff like this for fun.

So for anyone watching this segment who is not appreciating what the Air Force is doing for our country, you need to have your heads examined.

God bless the men & women in combat all over the world, our prayers go out to you.
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by origtartuffe May 13, 2009 12:42 AM EDT
A repeat of 9/11-type incident is more likely the longer we stay.

Nearly all the 9/11 people were Saudis. Making Af-Pak merely geography. There are doubtless more real anti-American training terrorists in Yemen, Somalia et al than Pakistan (or until our mindlessness recruits even more).

For you invinciple pugilistic war mongers, take heart, CSs like me have zero effect on the inevitable. Northrup-Grumman has a nuclear powered drone on the drawing board. Making it possible to hover over target for months or hell forever. A boy aint we a real techno-power wet dream.

Remember, bin Laden is or was ostensibly why we're there. He'll die of old age and we'll still be there. Much to the delight of the M-I oligarch. Sustaining conflicts is their mo. The resugence of Irag is probably making them drool all over their portfolios.

I recommend Northrup-Grumman at the market. Put your money where your animus is.
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by sixtywatcher May 13, 2009 12:09 AM EDT
so lara logan sure tries on a lot of accents. she interchangeably sounds british, scottish, kiwi, australian, south african, and arab. I was waiting for redneck, but that, I suppose, would be too American.
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by old-pilot May 12, 2009 10:49 PM EDT
People who think that it is "unfair" to strike a terriorist out of "a clear blue sky" must think it is OK to strike with a roadside bomb or by a hidden sniper. Their stupidity is to be pitied, I guess. Personally, I think it is to be scorned. These aircraft are the most requested resource in the mideast war and do more to protect allied and civilian lives than any other system. I just wish we had every inch of the area covered 24 hours a day.
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by papa_E May 12, 2009 9:37 PM EDT
origtartuffe, I recall the pictures and the outrage when the first shoe dropped on a still blue sky over Manhattan on 9-11-2001 when, two very visible, unprovoked, hijacked missiles with moms, dads, sisters and grandmothers on board took out other innocent civilians. I guess you forgot all about that.

Ultimately the purpose of the US Military, its men, women and yes, weapon systems, is to deter war and agression against US citizens and the US homeland.
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by jimmyfly May 12, 2009 7:15 PM EDT
origtartuffe: Since you have evolved to a higher level of enlightenment, I volunteer you to be our representative to negotiate with the Taliban. Good Luck!
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by exrescueswimmer May 12, 2009 4:12 PM EDT
I have to say that it is disheartening to read some of the comments on this topic - here and in other threads.

Our troops for years have been at the risk of losing their lives from unmanned weapons - they are called IED's. Why is there not as much anger toward the insurgents who place these devices? Why not focus your criticism toward them? When we (America) deploy a weapon there are checks and balances and there is a team of educated operators making informed decisions. You are naïve to think otherwise.

It also amazes me the arrogance of so many implying that they have cornered the market on empathy and reason ? as if the personnel at the controls actually believes they are playing a video game! Do you genuinely believe these individuals have no concept of the results of their actions?

I, for one, am a staunch supporter of such technology due to the fact that it saves lives in the end.
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by dousley May 12, 2009 4:04 PM EDT
Great piece! More please. Now that you have covered what a UAV (unmanned air vehicle) can do how about covering the new UCAVs (unmanned combat air vehicle) like the Boeing X-45A and the Northrop X-47B?

It won't be long now before manned aircraft in a war zone will be archaic.
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