U.S. Flooded Out Millions in Pakistan to Protect Drone Base

[elpuma]

Americans Flooded Out Millions in Pakistan to Protect U.S. Drone Military Base

FERYAL ALI GAUHAR: Well, yes, there is a very real connection, although that’s not the only element that we’re concerned about. But it is well known, if not acknowledged by—particularly by the state, that the base for the drones, where they’re housed before they are automated, is in Pakistan. The current government has literally gone blue in the face denying that.

But I just happened to stumble across a contractor—and that’s not the Blackwater contractor—the contractor who built the base, who inadvertently, actually, spoke about it. But he was speaking about it in a different context, and that context was the fact that he was there at the time of the flooding—and, you know, this is the worst catastrophe to have hit any state since apparently biblical times. So, he actually mentioned to me that the River Indus, which is one of the largest rivers in the world, carrying now a volume of water which has not been known in contemporary history, was breached on the left bank deliberately in order to protect the base, which is on the right bank. And the breaching caused, consequentially, the inundation of an entire district, which resulted in the displacement of millions, not thousands, but millions, because we have 170 million people in the country, and this particular district is one of the most densely populated. So, yes, there is a connect between, you know, what is considered to be a natural disaster, but then the management of that disaster is not natural at all.

AMY GOODMAN: And this is a base that is used, run by US military, to run its drone attacks?

FERYAL ALI GAUHAR: Oh, absolutely. In fact, it is a base where non-US military personnel are not allowed. In fact, the person I was talking who was there, who built the base, actually said to me that one of the reasons why non-US military personnel are not allowed is not just for security of the US military personnel, but because they do not wish to share the technology. They are—you know, we’ve had a long historical and political tie with the People’s Republic of China. And so, there is this fear that was expressed while the contractor was working on the base that the drone technology, you know, should remain specifically in the hands of the US military, and it should not be replicated by any other nation. So there is that protection of the technology itself. It’s not just the protection of the personnel.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/13/this_is_the_worst_catastrophe_to

[82_28]

Possible "KWH" and at the very least meme manipulation. This is the first story that popped into my head upon reading your post, elpuma. Went to go look it up, as I hadn't really looked into it when the story broke.

Runaway Drone Violated Capital Airspace

DENVER (Aug. 26) -- A military drone that was supposed to be remotely controlled broke off contact with its operators and wandered into restricted airspace around the nation's capital, the military has revealed.

More than an hour into what was otherwise a normal flight, pilots remotely operating the MQ-8 Fire Scout lost contact with the unmanned helicopter on Aug. 2. The drone then traveled 23 miles away from Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland and toward Washington. Though it never reached the District of Columbia, it did cross into the National Capital Region airspace, which is restricted.

An unmanned MQ-8 Fire Scout aircraft similar to the one shown went off course during testing on Aug. 2 and entered restricted airspace near the nation's capital, the Navy said Wednesday.
"The operator team shifted to [the] other Ground Control Station, restoring link and successfully commanding vehicle to recover at Webster Field," Capt. Tim Dunigan, the Fire Scout program manager, said in a statement released to AOL News. "The aircraft returned to Webster Field safely without injuries, and without damage to the aircraft or vessel."

The lost communication link was attributed to a software anomaly that has since been identified and fixed, Dunigan said.

News of the runaway drone was released amid a popular industry conference dedicated to unmanned aircraft and robots being held in Denver. It also comes at a time when supporters of drones are trying to convince the Federal Aviation Administration to loosen restrictions on operating unmanned aircraft in civil airspace.

Speaking Wednesday at the conference in Denver, Air Force official Gerald Sayer briefed attendees on the Defense Department's plans to have the military fly drones more freely in civilian airspace. "We want to have full access to the National Airspace," he said.

He warned, however, that a major accident involving an unmanned aircraft would have major repercussions on the Pentagon's efforts. "That would set us back at least a decade," he said.

Asked about the Fire Scout incident, Sayer said he was unsure of the specific details, but pointed out that it had "corrected itself" and avoided any accident.

"These things happen," he said.

The Navy office in charge of the unmanned helicopters has suspended flights until its investigation into the incident is completed.

"We are in the final stages of the investigation and plan on briefing leadership next week," said Dunigan, the program manager. "We anticipate resuming flight operations in early September."

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/m ... e/19610001