Saturday, February 23, 2013

US enters new War: Troops sent to Niger

Wisdom Quarterly; Los Angeles Times; CodePinkAlert.org
Money for mayhem and worldwide militarization: US to sell Predator drones to United Arab Emirates (latimes.com)
  
WASHINGTON, D.C. -  About 100 U.S. troops have [been] deployed to the West African country of Niger [nee-jair] to help establish a drone base for surveillance missions, in the latest step by the United States to aid French forces battling Islamic militants in neighboring Mali [and Timbuktu]. In a letter to Congress on Friday, President Obama said the deployment would "provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region." The last 40 American troops in the deployment arrived in Niger on Feb. 20 with the consent of the government, Obama said. A senior U.S. officer described the [military] troops as a security unit... More
Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control
Here is a comprehensive look at the growing menace of drone warfare, with an extensive analysis of:
  • Who is producing these drones?
  • Where are they being used?
  • Who is "piloting" these unmanned planes?
  • Who are the victims, and what are the legal and moral implications?
This book is also a call to action -- with a look at what activists, lawyers, and scientists are doing to rein in the drones and ways to stop them.
"Activist-extraordinaire Medea Benjamin has documented how the U.S. government's use of drones to murder hundreds of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen has increased the danger to our national security. And Benjamin’s “Drone Warfare” is the first book that reveals the vocal international citizen opposition that challenges the legality and morality of America’s extrajudicial execution drones before they kill here at home."
—Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel and former US diplomat

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