Sunday, April 15, 2012

Who is "manning" U.S. Drones in Afghanistan? - by Bee Sting

A U.S. Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile

Bee's Note:  On April 2, I posted an article by Con Underground about the US drone that landed in Iran - yes, "landed", it did not crash, nor did it self-destruct.  And, according to all news and explanations from the Pentagon spokesperson, the Obama administration refused to allow that multi-million dollar piece of spy equipment to be blown up.  One comment by Con Underground, below:
THE ANSWERS WILL SHOCK  YOU – OR MAYBE NOT.Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that apparently the Pentagon  pleaded with Barrack Hussein Obama to give the order to do just that. The Pentagon initially wanted to send a special forces team to recover the drone.  Obama shot down that suggestion. Then the Pentagon offered up Plan B , blow it to kingdom come. FOX News reports that there was third option and Obama struck that down also. Obama refused all three of those  options  and now Iran and China have a brand spanking new fully functional top secret US RQ 170 Sentinel Drone.  They have our drone, paid for with our money  .. see video/read
RQ-170 captured by Iran. Photo via David CenciottiRemember, first reports about the "downed" drone were that it CRASHED ,  However, once Iran paraded the drone on TV, there wasn't a scratch, not even a slight mark, on the drone.  And the Pentagon changed its story on a Fox News interview. But, the best excuse comes on April 9th, from "Danger Room", just days after conservative bloggers question why the drone sitting in Iran did not self-destruct:

Reportedly John Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence from 2007 to 2009, and other senior officials wanted self-destruct gear installed on the Sentinels flying over Iran. “But the CIA’s engineering team balked, saying it would add too much weight to the delicately balanced frame,” the Postreports.
The story supports the military’s claim that the RQ-170 suffered mechanical problems, .... continue reading

You have got to be kidding - "too much weight"?!  How much does a few self-destruct chemicals weigh?!  And, since when do engineers outweigh "senior" officials' decisions that would prevent the enemy from obtaining military spy equipment/information?  With each passing month, the story and this administration's excuses about that drone now owned by Iran, becomes more unbelievable.  

Yesterday, world leaders met with a few Iranian leaders to discuss Iran's race to obtain nuclear capabilities.  Do you think a representative from the U.S. mentioned our drone? A rogue regime, led by madmen promising to wipe out Israel and attack the U.S. and claiming to seek "peaceful" uses for their nuclear ambitions is as ridiculous as the stories about the U.S. Drone that did not self-destruct before or after landing in Iran.  Who exactly is manning our drones at the switch?!

Now, we're reading of the 7th century Islamic Taliban (armed by Iran) shooting down U.S. drones in Afghanistan (story below, by Press TV).  Of course, according to Biden, the "Taliban are "friends", and we've been holding talks with that terrorist outfit in order to come to some happy "agreement", for the purpose of allowing U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan in the hands of a crooked Afghanistan government and the Taliban ... this, after our troops fought and died in a War on Terrorism for the past 10 plus years since 9/11.  Have we been going in circles, as the expense of thousands of our troops dying?  We're "talking" with the same terrorists shooting down our helicopters and drones - anyone in Washington care to explain this foolishness?

Lastly, and I believe this is a legitimate question:  Who exactly is manning our Drones in Afghanistan these days?  Who is at the switch directing the drone? Have we turned that over to the Afghans as part of our "training" of the local Afghan police and its citizens?  How else do you explain the sudden loss of U.S. BILLION DOLLAR military equipment to America's enemies?  Better to crash a drone over enemy territory, than allow the enemy to share intelligence with China, and whoever else is seeking to harm the U.S.

Footnote:  The same week the CIA's excuse was reported about not installing self-destruct gear on drones, was the same week the leaks poured out of the administration, to the media, that undermined Israel's plans to attack Iran. ... Does anyone see a pattern developing from the Obama administration?  

now, from Press TV:
PRESS TV
Taliban claim responsibility for downing US spy drone in Afghanistan

An American RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned reconnaissance aircraft
Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for downing a US surveillance drone in war-torn Afghanistan, Press TV reports.

The militants claim they have shot down the drone in Laghman Province and say they have collected the wreckage. 

Officials have not yet confirmed the report. 

Earlier, another US spy drone crashed in Ghazni Province. 

Afghan soldiers reportedly found the wreckage of the crashed drone and handed it over to the US-led forces in the region. 

On Thursday, an American helicopter belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also crashed in the eastern province of Khost. The cause of the crash was not determined. 

The Taliban militants claim they have shot down several unmanned aircraft and NATO choppers in different parts of Afghanistan. 

The US frequently uses surveillance as well as armed drones to launch airstrikes in Afghanistan and elsewhere. 

MAS/SZH/MP/JR/HGH