Month: September 2013

[berliner-zeitung.de] Das Völkerrecht kennt keine Rechtsgrundlagen für die Exekution vermeintlicher Terroristen durch Drohneneinsätze

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[berliner-zeitung.de]
Das Völkerrecht kennt keine Rechtsgrundlagen für die Exekution vermeintlicher Terroristen außerhalb von Gefechtssituationen. Sollte sich herausstellen, dass die USA derartige Drohneneinsätze von Deutschland aus koordinieren, wäre das ein Fall für die deutsche Justiz.
Fast einhellig beurteilen die europäischen Völkerrechtler die Einsätze der US-Kampfdrohnen als völkerrechtswidrig, genauer gesagt als ungesetzliche Hinrichtungen, die als Mord oder Totschlag strafbar sind.
http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik/kampf-gegen-terrorismus-us-drohnen–verstoss-gegen-voelkerrecht,10808018,23106154.html

Strategie-Gruppe des britischen Kriegsministeriums – Kriege besser verkaufen …mit Drohnen

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Die britische Öffentlichkeit würde künftige Kriege eher unterstützen, wenn mehr Söldner, Drohnen und Elitetruppen eingesetzt würden, da  entsprechenden Verluste die Medien weniger aufregen, als der Tod regulärer Soldaten…meint die Strategie-Gruppe des britischen Kriegsministeriums

Hier weiterlesen (in English):

Using more contractors, drones may help sell wars to public, British MoD study suggests

http://rt.com/news/british-defence-war-public-419/

End Drone Warfare! No War on Syria! – Anti-War Protests and Conference

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Saturday, September 28th & Sunday, September 29th
Regional Anti-War Protest and Conference
End Drone Warfare!  No War on Syria!
with Iraq Veterans Against the War, US Palestinian Community Network, Syrian American Forum, ANSWER Chicago, & Anti-War Committee – Chicago

Midwest Action Against Drones
March on Boeing
No Killer Drone for Boeing
No New Wars on Syria and Iran
Money for Jobs, Healthcare, and Education, Not for War

Sat., Sep. 28
3:00 p.m.
Millennium Park, Chicago
(Northwest Corner of Columbus & Monroe)

Preparations for war are still moving ahead, despite the diplomatic turn that was caused by overwhelming opposition from the U.S. public and the international community. We are holding a regional anti-war protest in Chicago to tell the politicians:

No U.S. War on Syria

At the same time as the U.S. is preparing for war on Syria, and despite the growing controversy about the use of drones, the Obama administration has made it clear that the drone wars are not ending soon.

End Drone Warfare Abroad & Drone Spying at Home

The U.S. is already engaged in numerous wars.  While the occupation of Iraq has ended, and we have “only” 60,500 troops in Afghanistan, the addiction to war hasn’t ended.  For example, we are not “at war” with Pakistan or Yemen, but as many as 4000 people, including several hundred children, have been killed there by U.S. drone strikes.

In Chicago, the Boeing Company is vying for a contract with the Navy for a new combat drone – a contract that they say they must win to stay competitive among arms manufacturers.

It’s time to end the drone wars, not prepare to build another generation of deadly weapons.
Conference:  Building the movement against war and drones
Sun., Sep. 29
Chicago/Kent College of Law, 565 W. Adams

Predator drones ‘useless’ in combat scenarios – Air Force general

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RT 20.09.2013

Drones used by the US to spy on, hunt, and kill terror suspects are “useless” in just about every other combat-related scenario, a top Air Force general said.

The fleet of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones are no match for aircraft that can fly higher and faster, like those employed by the most basic of air defenses around the world, Gen. Mike Hostage, chief of the air service’s Air Combat Command, said at an Air Force Association conference.

“Predators and Reapers are useless in a contested environment,” Hostage said, as quoted by Foreign Policy.

“Today…I couldn’t put [a Predator or Reaper] into the Strait of Hormuz without having to put airplanes there to protect it,” he added.

The Air Force revealed this week that an F-22 intercepted an Iranian F-4 Phantom jet fleet closing in on a US Predator over the strait earlier this year. In late 2012, Iranian jets fired on and missed a Predator drone in the strait.

The Pentagon had previously ordered MQ-1s and MQ-9s to fly up to 65 four-drone Combat Air Patrols (CAPs) around the world by 2013, but the Air Force was skeptical of the need for the low-capability aircraft.

“We’re trying to convince [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] that the 65 challenge – while [it] made sense to the people who gave it to us when it was given, and we dutifully went after it – is not the force structure the nation needs or can afford” in situations where opposing aircraft have advanced operations to counter US aircraft, said Hostage.

Hostage admitted the drones will be used to monitor targets in the future, but that US military planners “want it in a contested environment and we can’t do it currently.”

Another Air Force official echoed Hostage, saying that once the US is out of Afghanistan – where drones can easily roam in US-controlled skies – he’d like the Air Force to replace the Predators and Reapers with more stealth.

“My argument would be we can’t afford to keep all of this capability so we’re going to have to bring some of it down,” said Air Force intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Bob Otto. He wants to use the freed funds to invest in drones with more and better capabilities against well-defended targets.

Hostage also said the Air Force needs new reconnaissance planes by the early 2020s in order to stay ahead of rivals like China and Russia who are creating – and likely exporting – advanced stealth aircraft.

http://rt.com/usa/predator-drones-useless-air-force-103/