Iraqi Govt. Slams US Over Constant Drone Surveillance
State Dept. Drones Cover All of Iraq to 'Protect Embassy'
Another irksome aspect of the lingering American presence beyond its military withdrawal, the US State Department has fielded a whole fleet of surveillance drones to fly over Iraq. They say the flights are meant to protect the city-sized US Embassy on the outskirts of Baghdad.
For the Iraqi government, however, the unwelcome overflights amount to a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and they have a point. It is hard to imagine the US would give unfettered access to the whole of its airspace to any other nation’s surveillance drones, no matter how big its embassy was.
The State Department’s Diplomatic Security branch hasn’t exactly been keeping the drones a secret, but it hasn’t broadcast them very loudly either. Their mention is a single paragraph buried near the back of its recent annual report.
Contractors responsible for providing the drones say that it may be a growing industry, with the State Department reportedly planning to field similar fleets in countries like Indonesia which they consider “high threat.” No word yet on how the Indonesian government feels about that.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
- Centrifuge Glitch Fuels Latest Iran Scare Stories - May 25th, 2012
- Iraq MPs Push Return to Saddam-Era Conscription Laws - May 25th, 2012
- US Negotiator on Iran to 'Reaffirm Our Unshakeable Commitment to Israel' - May 25th, 2012
- UN: Syria Bombings Likely by 'Established Terrorist Groups' - May 25th, 2012
- Military to Avoid Embarrassing Pictures by Banning Photography - May 25th, 2012
R.Parker
January 29th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
And these infernal machines are now prowling over US airspace, operated by cowardly ex-teenage video game dweebs at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, and other locations, and by the Ministry of Homeland Enslavement to spy on and eventually attack us.
mickperry
January 30th, 2012 at 12:25 am
And so this is what the 'end of occupation looks like. An entirely predictable development which is none the less breath-taking for its imperial arrogance. Drone strikes are the inevitable consequence of this, with countless numbers of undocumented Hadithas to follow.
MoT
January 30th, 2012 at 2:29 am
Well, hells bells. I guess it's OK then for every other nation in the world to field drones, armed even, over DC, eh? I mean, seriously, who has attacked more countries lately than Mordor on the Potomac?
Walter Cole
January 30th, 2012 at 4:56 am
Perhaps Iraq should order the Embassy closed and send the American staff back home where they will be safe.
T Allinn
January 30th, 2012 at 6:09 am
kinda like in a Transsylvian monster movie, everyone hides after dark from u kno what, or any town in anceint europe menaced by flying rats or a fyre breathing dragon with a taste for human flesh, soon possibly if the syko xeonist had their hearts content, which of a matter course the fix is in, “WANTED” St. Georges’ best Tip, of the archer ||| “hElp nEEdEd” the sign may read in an ole b-movie,,,rated pg-13 for HORROR & canibolistic gorgan rat & gargoylean robot flesh eating monster armys eating each other ALIVE some images of police action aerial dog fights, “warning” some collaterall innocents are ritually sacrificed & burned at the stake to appease the gog of hells fyre sadistic gleeez, to stoke the flames of war DISEASE thy pyre ever higher, oo ? “pg-13″ for thrills terror & horror
T Allinn
January 30th, 2012 at 6:19 am
*to JD* edit,,, plz exscuse the typo on the gmail address
T Allinn
January 30th, 2012 at 6:23 am
never mind operation brain fq too much 4 ? oo
jaczar
January 30th, 2012 at 6:31 am
Any sovereign government would consider this a provacation. It appears the U.S. does not mind making more and more enemies around the world. It’s good for the military/industrial folks, helps to make them richer than they are, which is the bottom line. You can screw with Iraq and Afghanistan and Malaysia, and even Iran until they get their first bomb, but messing with nuclear-armed Pakistan whose government is unstable at best, demonstrates the stupidity of the Pentagon, CIA and State Department. You idiots put the people of our country in harms way due to the hatred you precipitate. Then you’ll tell us they hate us for our freedom and rightousness.
JLS
January 30th, 2012 at 7:32 am
If it looks like a totalitarian police state, talks like a totalitarian police state and acts like a totalitarian police state, then it's a totalitarian police state.
jeff_davis
January 30th, 2012 at 8:26 am
Momentarily forgotten about American Exceptionalism, have you? Not to mention "Full Spectrum Dominance"? Understandable. Living in and dealing with the real world inevitably involves every now and again being distracted by reality.
No such distraction for the Masters of the Imperium, though. No "time out" for their ambition. They lay claim to the entire world. Those in the provinces will no doubt be slow in getting with the program, but for starts let them practice the two words essential for proper shows of obeisance: "How high?"
jeff_davis
January 30th, 2012 at 8:28 am
My thoughts exactly. Or alternatively, shoot down the f*cking drones. Accidentally, of course.
pendulum
January 30th, 2012 at 9:50 am
the drones take off and land somewhere, close those areas down.
John Ellis
January 30th, 2012 at 11:54 am
EYE WITNESS — OAKLAND POLICE RIOT
AMY GOODMAN: Maria Lewis, what about some of the reports that said that the protesters were violent?
MARIA LEWIS: Absolutely. There was a lot of anger this weekend, and I think that the anger that the protesters showed in the streets this weekend and the fighting back that did take place was reflective of a larger anger in Oakland that is boiling over at the betrayal of the system. I think that people, day by day, are realizing, as the economy gets worse and worse, as unemployment gets worse and worse, as homelessness gets worse and worse, that the economic system, that capitalism in Oakland, is failing us. And people are really angry about that, and they’re beginning to fight back. And I think that that’s a really inspiring thing.
John Ellis
January 30th, 2012 at 11:56 am
AMY GOODMAN: Oakland City Council Member Ignacio De La Fuente accused the Occupy movement of engaging in domestic terror.
CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IGNACIO DE LA FUENTE: It’s an escalation with our—I think that basically what, in my opinion, amounts to kind of a domestic terrorism, when these people start taking buildings, and they start costing the city incredible amount of resources.
AMY GOODMAN: Maria Lewis, your response?
MARIA LEWIS: Yeah. I think that that was—the idea that reclaiming vacant abandoned buildings is terrorism is very retelling of the city’s priorities and of what the city—what the Oakland Police Department serves and protects. They are more interested in protecting abandoned private property than they are the people. And the idea that opening up a social center is terrorism is very telling of the narrative of the police state.
Dieter
January 30th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Anyone who has listened carefully to the speeches and read the interviews in the Chicago Tribune by then-candidate Obama in 2008 could have predicted with absolute certainty that something like this would happen. He was and still is a neo-imperialist with testosterone over-production.
thedissenter
January 30th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
There go those damn ingrates complaining again. Sheesh! Can the US not make anyone happy?
PS: If y'all look up, you can now see the drones spying on you too. Soon, they'll be doing a tad more than just spying.
the lion
January 30th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
It is simple shoot the things down, The overflight of Aircraft over the sovereign territory is in fact an act of war. As for 11000 Diplomats make 10 950 Persona Non Grata, 50 Diplomats is more than enough with a proper old fashioned US Marine Protective detail!
John_Muhammad
January 30th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
They may be shot down, but I'm sure all the American public would be spoon-fed is that " the entire fleet suffered a massive breakdown in command and control functions, causing many of the drones to experience guidance failure and crash. "
On the other hand, a different spin would be that " the Iraqi military held a nationwide air-defense drill that involved the firing of numerous surface-to-air missiles. Destroyed were a number of target drones (supplied by the US) that were flying overhead to test the effectiveness of the Iraqi response to violations of its airspace. "
MoT
January 30th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Haven't forgotten, Jeff. I'm sadly reminded daily. This is where I've said time and again, to those who listen, that only those who believe they own the world act like this.
MoT
January 30th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Don't tell the lame-stream media that. They're still creaming their pants over his "singing" escapade. Never mind the fascist totalitarianism just focus on the tunes!