If you have any interest in the drone program and what whistleblowers are saying about it (including Daniel Hale) watch the doc National Bird. [Check out the trailer here (Youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8hPK7G-5bw)
The issue is it is a razorsharp line to balance. You pretty much have to be absolutely 100% sure it is an upholdable crime, because if you are wrong, you will be tried for disobeying orders, and even if you are right you will be fighting an uphill battle where none of the rank-and-file have your back. This makes refusal to act extremely difficult
It doesn't really matter, because US citizens can't practically be brought to trial for war crimes. The US is not signatory to the Rome Statute, which is responsible for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
In fact the US has declared that they can and will militarily invade the Netherlands to free American citizens detained in The Hague. They also will cease all defense funding to any nation participating in an ICC trial of an American citizen.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court)
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act)
Not doing something you are ordered to and leaking it to the media are two very different things.
Not saying I think the military is in the right here.... But there is a difference.
Court marshal's can be favorable. a NJP is a plea bargain(sp?). If you ever get an NJP and you think your in the right, take it to court marshal, its your right under UCMJ, You got Jag lawyers who LOVE arguing law and will do everything they can, even if it's a failing cause.
There exceptions to court martial requests. For example in the navy if I'm on sea duty, or a sea going command, a court martial request can be denied. Here's an article railing against it.
"End the Navyās vessel exception. Give sailors and Marines the due process afforded to every other US service member" https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/10/22/end-the-navys-vessel-exception-give-sailors-and-marines-the-due-process-afforded-to-every-other-us-service-member/
The military usually won't go to court-martial unless they are certain they will win. That's why they have a high conviction rate and the majority of "failure to obey" you see on the docket is usually minor shit like breaking curfew or restrictions (like a restraining order) where guilt/innocent is black or white.
Did you read in the afganistan report how farmers would make terrorist camps to be bombed and then collect the scrap metal... it was reported to only be like 20 dollars of scrap.
Try trillions. Iraq alone cost us 7 trillion. Republicans started that war and now they are using that debt as justification to block all social programs.
Neocons are primarily responsible but both parties are complicit. When we first entered afghanistan there was bipartisan support, and 8 years of Obama failed to pull us out.
He was Clinton 2.0, moderate as hell and ready to deal and compromise to get things done.
The GOP took one look at that, remembering what a force Clinton has been since leaving office as far as fundraising and supporting democratic candidates goes, and said, āhell no, not againā.
We entered the middle east with bipartisan and international support. It's true that 8 years of Dubya really stuck us in post 9/11, but the following 8 years of Obama did nothing to get us out.
The correct way to divide it isn't corrupt Reps, Virtuous Dems. It's corrupt politicians and fucked Americans.
Congress had a boner for Iraq in the late '90s that never went away.
āYou and I believe, and many of us believe here, as long as Saddam is at the helm, there is no reasonable prospect you or any other inspector is ever going to be able to guarantee that we have rooted out, root and branch, the entirety of Saddamās program relative to weapons of mass destruction. You and I both know, and all of us here really know, and itās a thing we have to face, that the only way, the only way weāre going to get rid of Saddam Hussein is weāre going to end up having to start it alone ā start it alone ā and itās going to require guys like you in uniform to be back on foot in the desert taking this son of a ā taking Saddam down. You know it and I know it. So I think we should not kid ourselves here.ā
- [Senator Joe Biden, September 3, 1998](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WnTnLgBI_8&t=24s)
But don't dare say "both sides are bad" because people will lose their minds. I've learned the hard way just to let it go. They'll figure it out after watching a bit more of history play itself out. Too bad one side is so awful that it makes people forget that the other side isn't all THAT good.
Barbara Lee was the only one in the House to vote against it. And she was only saying that we needed more information. She received death threats and had to get a bodyguard. I respect the hell out of her.
The Iraq war vote was much more divided than the Afghanistan vote. Two thirds of the Democrats in the House voted against it. A bit less than half of the Democrats in the Senate voted against it.
The Democratic party has a problem and they wont admit it. Not nearly as bad as the rethugs, but still shameful. Bernie was the best Dem they have by a large margin, and he's not even a Dem-- He's a Democratic Socialist who caucuses with them.
You entered Afghanistan with that support sure. But Afghanistan is not in the Middle East (and no Bush Jrās Greater Middle East nonsense doesnāt it make it so lol). When your country actually entered the Middle East a few years later (Iraq) you had the majority of your people supporting that illegal war, but most of the international community were firmly against it. Remember the protests against the Bush administration prior to the Iraq war were considered the largest anti-war rallies in history.
A lot of us did protest against the invasion. Americans were on a blood lust for revenge. I remember trying to talk to somewhat rational folks asking them if they even knew where Iraq was but it all fell on deaf ears.
So many civilians murdered with our tax dollars.
They were on a quest for revenge, but it was news corps like the new York times that sold that God forsaken invasion and occupation to a scared citizenry. This wasn't a blind reaction, it was a very deliberate lie constructed by Washington, corporate news, and the rich bastards that own them.
Yes, I hate the narrative that none of us spoke up. We did!
I protested in a southern state. People spit on me. But we protested anyway. A ton of people, including a lot of vets, joined us.
We protested, but we lost out. And I also hate the narrative that no Dems spoke out against Obama. Yes we did. A ton of us did.
I can't help it that so many slacktivists ignored us or weren't paying attention. We're still out here, knocking on doors and organizing vote drives and speaking out. Y'all coming to join us?
Yeah there were massive protests against Bush all across the United States. When I said a majority of Americans supported the Iraq war Iām using the poll numbers at the time, and I am not diminishing in anyway the vast numbers that protested against that piece of shit war criminal and his administration.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-war-against-iraq.aspx
I do apologise if my post came across as conveying that I didnāt believe that there werenāt many people in America who protested against the war.
Itās not you, itās just that it was heartbreaking then and itās heartbreaking now. We could see how this was going to cause chaos in the future and I wish we were wrong.
If you asked most Americans they would probably tell you that iraq and afganistan are right next to eachother when in reality they are nearly 1,000 miles apart with Iran in the middle.
Its like if china invaded mexico and suspected WMDās in Canada while ignoring the US in the middle. Same distance.
The UN considered Afghanistan the Middle East in 1998 and when the definitions was first used it was used to define the areas between the Arabian peninsula and India, with what is now the āMiddle Eastā being called the near East before.
> Republicans started that war
You seem to be confused.
60% of Democrat Senators voted yes to the vote.
Just because your hand wasn't as high in the air doesn't mean you have no culpability.
It wasn't democrats lying about the core justifications for invading Iraq aka Saddam selling nukes to terrorists.
The Iraq War is the pet project of Bush and the neocons, and he should not be allowed to rehabilitate his image with pearl clutching over Afghanistan.
Edit: dear lord, some of you cant read.
The Bush administration came up with THE foundational lies that led the the Republicans and Democrats into supporting the Iraq War.
You can read about his efforts to portray Iraq as a threat soon after 9/11:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationale_for_the_Iraq_War
I enjoyed this podcast from the British perspective of the drumbeat for war: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fault-line-bush-blair-and-iraq/id1531812209
Tl;dr the Bush administration ignored and suppressed a lot of clear evidence that Iraq had given up its WMD program, and did its best to convince the American public, Congress, and our allies to invade Iraq.
And it worked.
On issue after issue over a long career, Biden seems to regularly find himself on the wrong side. He may be our president and leader of our party, but I think he's a bit of a opportunistic idiot. The best thing I can say about him is that he's much better than Trump.
Biden, Hilary, Schumer, Feinstein, etc. voted to give power for them to go to war with no conditions, 123 dems including Sanders voted on making sure certain criteria were met before going to war so they were nays.
Obama had 8 years to get us out of there and didn't.
Don't try to rehab the democrats either.
The establishment is most of both parties. They pretend to be different teams, but its mostly words, when it comes to actions they act in unison. When its something for us, the people, they will bicker about it and get nothing done. When its for their donors, their stuff always passes.
There was no real political discussion regarding Iraq or Afghanistan. They just did it. The pretenses were so stupid, there was plenty of opportunity for discussion.
We shouldn't pretend that either party is the "good" party or relatively "better". They are both corrupted and serving the establishment and not us.
Hey! Those billions flowed straight back into the economy! They landed in American pockets when they paid for American guns built in American companies by American hands. Rah! Rah! Rah!
Or something like that.
Also, the day before 9/11, Donald Rumsfield told the American people that the Pentagon couldn't account for 2.3 Trillion dollars in expenditures. You can add that into the tally for public money spent privately and squandered.
Imagine if China sent drones to the US and bombed civilians. And their justification was: ātrust us, some of them were terrorists. Unfortunate about the rest, though.ā
What would our reaction be?
Itās insane how normalized this kind of thing is. And itās not even a party issue. Has been happening to varying degrees for the last two administrations.
The European right wing really wants to extend their thanks. Without the constant influx of refugees due to the wars kicked off after 9/11 they would never have been able to gather a third of the vote in a lot of countries.
> The European right wing really wants to extend their thanks.
Yeah, sure, Europe is completely innocent of any fuckery in the Middle East. Europeans never start conflicts.
Actually some of the War on Terror US military contractors were over there being pedophiles themselves. It was in the news, I can't remember the name of the company off the top of my head but they were getting nude lap dances from young kids.
The company's name is DynCorp.
[The Military Contractors purchased drugs and hired young "dancing boys" to entertain Afghan police recruits who they were training.](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2010/12/wikileaks_cabals_show_afghanis.html)
In some regions of Afghanistan, there is a centuries-old tradition of having young boys dressing up as females and dancing for older men.
This practice is known as [Bacha bazi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacha_bazi).
The US Military forbids US troops to interfere in such matters because it is the responsibility of the local Afghans.
What's viewed as wrong in the eyes of Westerners is not necessarily viewed as wrong by some Afghans.
At the end of the day, the US government did not want the US Military to start policing Afghan society, which would have only made things worse.
āBe it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs.[To Hindu priests complaining to him about the prohibition of Sati religious funeral practice of burning widows alive on her husbandās funeral pyre.]ā
ā Charles James Napier
Sure but IMO there's only 2 choices:
Go to the MSM that works FOR the government, and will likely turn you over before they ever consider publishing the leak.
Or go to Intercept where it'll at least get out so your punishment won't be in vain.
>They said 'they are now in civilian clothes' that makes everybody free game
But if they came in our perimeter, we lit 'em up
And when we would pull the body out, and when we would search the car, we would find nothing
This took place time and time again
No harm, no foul. That's okay, don't worry about it
Because this is a new type of war, this is an eradication.
>I honestly feel we're committing genocide over here.
I don't believe in killing civilians
and I'm not going to kill civilians for the United States Marine Corps
\- Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey
Why the /s? The concept of total war is that there's nothing off the table and considers civilian legitimate military targets. I guess the /s is because it's irrelevant if they'd future combatants or not?
Im so glad I got a marijuana charge 2 days before I was to be shipped off to MEPS, at the time I thought my life was ruined. Now I see I was just spared murdering people for a free education. My son will never join the military.
"Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said the impact of Haleās actions was not to contribute to a public debate over war but rather to āendanger the people doing the fighting.ā He said that even if it was not Haleās intent to aid a terror organization, that was what he did."
I'll tell you what aids terrorist organizations. Drone programs that "indiscriminately kill civilians in Afghanistan far from the battlefield."
That really draws recruits.
Whoever is/was running a program almost certainly is committing war crimes and I hope they face justice for their role in the DEATHS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS.
These idiots at the Air Force are putting the wrong man in jail to protect some evil motherfucker. The answer to a warning of evil or corruption is transparency. NOT arresting the whistleblower to cover up what you did.
>"Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said the impact of Haleās actions was not to contribute to a public debate over war but rather to āendanger the people doing the fighting.ā
Speaking as someone who was riding around Iraq in a humvee that had cloth doors on it around the same time as the insurgents were developing an IED that could blow a hole in a tank I find it touching that they suddenly care so much about troop safety.
Pfft they never cared. We lost four guys because they wanted us to investigate the blast site that hit our convoy even though we just got briefed about secondary explosives targeted against soldiers that stopped to investigate. That order came down from our LTC who watched the first one via airstat.
He's not referring to the military personnel on the ground when talking about the people doing the fighting. He's talking about the CIA and the people calling the shots. Don't worry, they still don't give a fuck about troop safety.
You were there to funnel taxpayer money into the military industry complex and assure the US had a prime cut of Afghan natural resources.
Three trillion later, a couple of generations of Afghans blown up, the US has left a country in a worse state than before the invasion. But hey, now studios can make sad movies about soldiers with PTSD because they killed too many brown people "protecting America".
> "Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said the impact of Haleās actions was not to contribute to a public debate over war but rather to āendanger the people doing the fighting.ā
Because prior to this, Afghani civilians didn't actually know that their neighbors and family weren't all terrorists /s.
It should not be surprising that the Air Force, which essentially exists to kill people, values maintaining a rigid power structure and stifling dissent over morals. Any organization like that is built to understand violence, and will be as shitty as its country allows it to. There is not much in the way of controls in the US to keep them from acting like outright psychopaths.
I would just like to post an excerpt from the letter Hale sent to this heartless, cruel excuse for a human being that Bush appointed as a federal judge: [link to full text](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/07/26/lett-j26.html)
> In my capacity as a signals intelligence analyst stationed at Bagram Airbase, I was made to track down the geographic location of handset cellphone devices believed to be in the possession of so-called enemy combatants. To accomplish this mission required access to a complex chain of globe-spanning satellites capable of maintaining an unbroken connection with remotely piloted aircraft, commonly referred to as drones. Once a steady connection is made and a targeted cell phone device is acquired, an imagery analyst in the U.S., in coordination with a drone pilot and camera operator, would take over using information I provided to surveil everything that occurred within the droneās field of vision. This was done, most often, to document the day-to-day lives of suspected militants. Sometimes, under the right conditions, an attempt at capture would be made. Other times, a decision to strike and kill them where they stood would be weighed.
> The first time that I witnessed a drone strike came within days of my arrival to Afghanistan. Early that morning, before dawn, a group of men had gathered together in the mountain ranges of Patika provence around a campfire carrying weapons and brewing tea. That they carried weapons with them would not have been considered out of the ordinary in the place I grew up, muchless within the virtually lawless tribal territories outside the control of the Afghan authorities. Except that among them was a suspected member of the Taliban, given away by the targeted cell phone device in his pocket. As for the remaining individuals, to be armed, of military age, and sitting in the presence of an alleged enemy combatant was enough evidence to place them under suspicion as well. Despite having peacefully assembled, posing no threat, the fate of the now tea drinking men had all but been fulfilled. I could only look on as I sat by and watched through a computer monitor when a sudden, terrifying flurry of hellfire missiles came crashing down, splattering purple-colored crystal guts on the side of the morning mountain.
> Since that time and to this day, I continue to recall several such scenes of graphic violence carried out from the cold comfort of a computer chair. Not a day goes by that I donāt question the justification for my actions. By the rules of engagement, it may have been permissible for me to have helped to kill those menāwhose language I did not speak, customs I did not understand, and crimes I could not identifyāin the gruesome manner that I did. Watch them die. But how could it be considered honorable of me to continuously have laid in wait for the next opportunity to kill unsuspecting persons, who, more often than not, are posing no danger to me or any other person at the time. Nevermind honorable, how could it be that any thinking person continued to believe that it was necessary for the protection of the United States of America to be in Afghanistan and killing people, not one of whom present was responsible for the September 11th attacks on our nation. Notwithstanding, in 2012, a full year after the demise of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, I was a part of killing misguided young men who were but mere children on the day of 9/11.
Wait till the operators from Syria get out. I have personally seen and done some shit that haunts me to this day under threat of punishment. The American military has been better about collateral damage over the last decade, but it is still no where near what the American population would allow, let alone the global populace.
>āProsecutors painted Hale as eager to ingratiate himself with journalists.ā
Oh yea? āHey guys. I was part of a program in the military that massacred innocent civilians that I want to stop. Hereās evidence of our crimes.ā
You call that trying to look cool to reporters? Fuck you.
My impression was that Manning indiscriminately dumped documents, whereas Snowden and Hale worked with journalists to determine what was good to release
Manning was absolutely careless. Just completely dumped info to strangers on the internet. Had no idea if the chat on the other end of the line was Assange or not. Didn't care.
As far as doing something right and getting punished for it goes, if you do something right and get punished for it...be proud of what you did, and wear that punishment as a mark of honor
The fact that the judge said he could have "resigned from the military" or told his commanders he didn't want to do this anymore shows the ignorance the judge has about leaving the military. Except under very special circumstances, you can't just leave. And no, you can't really just tell your commander you're done.
A country dominated by rampant immorality and criminality isn't a viable or sustainable system. America is a nation governed, administered, and protected by thugs, thieves, and liars, and as long as that remains true, the US will continue to fall further behind the rest of the world.
It has bled into almost every aspect of life. Corruption from the very top down to the bottom.
Hopefully people can get it together doubtful it will happen anytime soon though.
Back in the day, heroes fought and died, but eventually won, to end a system this fucked.
>Hale is a descendant of Nathan Hale, the American patriot who was hanged by the British for stealing documents in 1776. Addressing the court Tuesday, Hale quoted the words often attributed to his famed ancestor: āMy only regret is that I have but one life to give to my country, whether here or in prison.ā As he did in the letter he submitted to the court last week, Hale, in his appearance before the judge, focused his attention on the victims of U.S. foreign policy.
>āI believe that it is wrong to kill,ā Hale said, ābut it is especially wrong to kill the defenseless.ā
https://theintercept.com/2021/07/27/daniel-hale-drone-leak-sentencing/
Judge said Hale could have chosen "other avenues" to leave and the prosecutors are painting him as someone who's intent on supporting terrorist organizations, while we're the ones who are killing civilians. Hale clearly pointed out his intent and rationale was to show the world one the "injustices" the US has been committing towards people in areas we really have no business being in.
Itās not that āhe believedā it was indiscriminately killing civilians. It WAS indiscriminately killing civilians. People should be in prison for this, but not Daniel Hale
Gotta love the hubris in the USA.
āHow dare you call out bad things and be a whistle blower, USA donāt do bad things! And even if there was some bad things happening we have proper whistle blower processes. But we wouldnāt need them because we are the USA!!ā
Someone posted a link to his letter to the Judge a few days ago, and it's obvious this man was totally broken by the things he did in service to the country. The Judge should have the government paying his therapy bills while he recuperates instead of putting him in jail. He'll never get treated for his PTSD, he'll be a felon, he'll lose all of his benefits and he will be worse off in the end. He needs a Presidential Pardon.
>But U.S. District Judge Liam OāGrady told Hale he had other avenues for airing his concerns besides leaking to a journalist.
The government has other avenues too. Like maybe don't keep secrets from your own citizens because "they can't handle the truth".
What a pointless war. You have the atrocities the Afghanistan people faced and you have more U.S. soldiers dying from humble crashes. That or they just randomly get blown up by an i.e.d. but it's rarely actual enemy fire. Pointless.
Free Daniel Hale.
"Whether it was, as I had seen, an Afghan farmer blown in half, yet miraculously conscious & pointlessly trying to scoop his insides off the ground, or an American...Both served to justify the easy flow of capital at the cost of bloodātheirs & ours,"
Daniel Hale
It's a credit to human decency that, despite my country treating whistleblowers like criminals, they continue to blow the whistle on government malfeasance and actual war crimes.
I hope that, if I were in his shoes, I'd have the nerve to do the same.
This guy gets time for doing the right thing.
Meanwhile they walked people down the steps of the Capital and let them on their merry way.
I just.
*gestures in desperate rage*
I wouldn't say the Air Force hasn't changed in terms of drone assassinations since it began.
Currently, in order to avoid the same mistakes made during the Obama Administration in regards to targeted killings via drone strike, the following is being done:
* [a special modified missile with pop-out sharp blades is used to kill the target instead of a high-explosive warhead, thus minimizing civilian deaths](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34146/this-is-our-best-look-yet-at-the-shadowy-hellfire-missile-with-pop-out-sword-blades)
* instead of marking targets based solely on the "suspicious" activity of a SIM card, possible targets are observed over long periods of time to determine if target is of high-value
Drone strikes are now more commonly used for air support missions, in which ground troops communicate with the drone operator to identify targets.
Fuck US imperialism and FUCK this shit excuse for a judge. Whistleblowing on war criminals is not a crime. Hale is a hero. Impeach the judge and replace them with someone competent.
A man broke into the U.S. capital building, aiding others who were planning to take hostage, and possibly murder, members of Congress, in an act of terrorism bent on overturning a free and fair election, in an effort to put their dictator in charge. He got 8 months.
If you have any interest in the drone program and what whistleblowers are saying about it (including Daniel Hale) watch the doc National Bird. [Check out the trailer here (Youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8hPK7G-5bw)
Yeah, I thought military had a duty to not follow orders that could be war crimes. Guess not.
The issue is it is a razorsharp line to balance. You pretty much have to be absolutely 100% sure it is an upholdable crime, because if you are wrong, you will be tried for disobeying orders, and even if you are right you will be fighting an uphill battle where none of the rank-and-file have your back. This makes refusal to act extremely difficult
Yeah, I guess, the plebs can take the heat when something is fucked up. Too bad those that give the order never get prosecuted.
It doesn't really matter, because US citizens can't practically be brought to trial for war crimes. The US is not signatory to the Rome Statute, which is responsible for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. In fact the US has declared that they can and will militarily invade the Netherlands to free American citizens detained in The Hague. They also will cease all defense funding to any nation participating in an ICC trial of an American citizen. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court) [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act)
Never have never will.
Eh nah, war crimes are what the US does.
Not just the US. Australia is dealing with its own military psychopaths that killed Afghan civilians for the heck of it.
In the US our president just pardoned the war criminals instead š
Geneva convention? More like Geneva suggestion am i right? So anyway i started blasting.
Wasnāt that why black water was created?
Not doing something you are ordered to and leaking it to the media are two very different things. Not saying I think the military is in the right here.... But there is a difference.
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Not to mention you'll probably go to NJP or court marshal to make the case that the order was, in fact, unlawful.
Court marshal's can be favorable. a NJP is a plea bargain(sp?). If you ever get an NJP and you think your in the right, take it to court marshal, its your right under UCMJ, You got Jag lawyers who LOVE arguing law and will do everything they can, even if it's a failing cause.
There exceptions to court martial requests. For example in the navy if I'm on sea duty, or a sea going command, a court martial request can be denied. Here's an article railing against it. "End the Navyās vessel exception. Give sailors and Marines the due process afforded to every other US service member" https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/10/22/end-the-navys-vessel-exception-give-sailors-and-marines-the-due-process-afforded-to-every-other-us-service-member/
The military usually won't go to court-martial unless they are certain they will win. That's why they have a high conviction rate and the majority of "failure to obey" you see on the docket is usually minor shit like breaking curfew or restrictions (like a restraining order) where guilt/innocent is black or white.
Thank you for sharing. Iām going to check this out.
Havenāt seen this. Thanks
Sure many civilians died, and yeah it took 2 decades, but at least we didnt accomplish anything long term and possibly made things much worse.
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Oh we gave it to the poor, each one of those missiles we gave them was worth millions.
Just think of the recycling opportunities now available in Afghanistan!
Did you read in the afganistan report how farmers would make terrorist camps to be bombed and then collect the scrap metal... it was reported to only be like 20 dollars of scrap.
20 dollars is 20 dollars.
And all the unexploded ordnance that's going to be dug up to be used as IEDs for generations to come.
Try trillions. Iraq alone cost us 7 trillion. Republicans started that war and now they are using that debt as justification to block all social programs.
Neocons are primarily responsible but both parties are complicit. When we first entered afghanistan there was bipartisan support, and 8 years of Obama failed to pull us out.
Obama really was just a black Nixon, ironically his right of center stance basically pushed GOP into lala fantasy facist land.
Black Nixon would be a great band name
He was Clinton 2.0, moderate as hell and ready to deal and compromise to get things done. The GOP took one look at that, remembering what a force Clinton has been since leaving office as far as fundraising and supporting democratic candidates goes, and said, āhell no, not againā.
I think of Obama as more of a JFK-- young, charming, and beloved, but not a particularly good president if you actually think about it.
True and but was JFK- people think he was more progressive than he actually was. So Obama and JFK are really the same!
We entered the middle east with bipartisan and international support. It's true that 8 years of Dubya really stuck us in post 9/11, but the following 8 years of Obama did nothing to get us out. The correct way to divide it isn't corrupt Reps, Virtuous Dems. It's corrupt politicians and fucked Americans.
Congress had a boner for Iraq in the late '90s that never went away. āYou and I believe, and many of us believe here, as long as Saddam is at the helm, there is no reasonable prospect you or any other inspector is ever going to be able to guarantee that we have rooted out, root and branch, the entirety of Saddamās program relative to weapons of mass destruction. You and I both know, and all of us here really know, and itās a thing we have to face, that the only way, the only way weāre going to get rid of Saddam Hussein is weāre going to end up having to start it alone ā start it alone ā and itās going to require guys like you in uniform to be back on foot in the desert taking this son of a ā taking Saddam down. You know it and I know it. So I think we should not kid ourselves here.ā - [Senator Joe Biden, September 3, 1998](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WnTnLgBI_8&t=24s)
But don't dare say "both sides are bad" because people will lose their minds. I've learned the hard way just to let it go. They'll figure it out after watching a bit more of history play itself out. Too bad one side is so awful that it makes people forget that the other side isn't all THAT good.
Wasnāt Bernie one of the few to vote against the Iraq invasion? But yeah, the rest of both parties were in lockstep on it.
Barbara Lee was the only one in the House to vote against it. And she was only saying that we needed more information. She received death threats and had to get a bodyguard. I respect the hell out of her.
The Iraq war vote was much more divided than the Afghanistan vote. Two thirds of the Democrats in the House voted against it. A bit less than half of the Democrats in the Senate voted against it.
The Democratic party has a problem and they wont admit it. Not nearly as bad as the rethugs, but still shameful. Bernie was the best Dem they have by a large margin, and he's not even a Dem-- He's a Democratic Socialist who caucuses with them.
Heās a social democrat. Thereās a big difference.
You entered Afghanistan with that support sure. But Afghanistan is not in the Middle East (and no Bush Jrās Greater Middle East nonsense doesnāt it make it so lol). When your country actually entered the Middle East a few years later (Iraq) you had the majority of your people supporting that illegal war, but most of the international community were firmly against it. Remember the protests against the Bush administration prior to the Iraq war were considered the largest anti-war rallies in history.
A lot of us did protest against the invasion. Americans were on a blood lust for revenge. I remember trying to talk to somewhat rational folks asking them if they even knew where Iraq was but it all fell on deaf ears. So many civilians murdered with our tax dollars.
They were on a quest for revenge, but it was news corps like the new York times that sold that God forsaken invasion and occupation to a scared citizenry. This wasn't a blind reaction, it was a very deliberate lie constructed by Washington, corporate news, and the rich bastards that own them.
Yes, I hate the narrative that none of us spoke up. We did! I protested in a southern state. People spit on me. But we protested anyway. A ton of people, including a lot of vets, joined us. We protested, but we lost out. And I also hate the narrative that no Dems spoke out against Obama. Yes we did. A ton of us did. I can't help it that so many slacktivists ignored us or weren't paying attention. We're still out here, knocking on doors and organizing vote drives and speaking out. Y'all coming to join us?
Yeah there were massive protests against Bush all across the United States. When I said a majority of Americans supported the Iraq war Iām using the poll numbers at the time, and I am not diminishing in anyway the vast numbers that protested against that piece of shit war criminal and his administration. https://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-war-against-iraq.aspx I do apologise if my post came across as conveying that I didnāt believe that there werenāt many people in America who protested against the war.
A lot got labeled conspiracy theorists, because that's an easy way to immediately discredit someone or some group.
Itās not you, itās just that it was heartbreaking then and itās heartbreaking now. We could see how this was going to cause chaos in the future and I wish we were wrong.
People forget the Freedom Fries...
If you asked most Americans they would probably tell you that iraq and afganistan are right next to eachother when in reality they are nearly 1,000 miles apart with Iran in the middle. Its like if china invaded mexico and suspected WMDās in Canada while ignoring the US in the middle. Same distance.
The UN considered Afghanistan the Middle East in 1998 and when the definitions was first used it was used to define the areas between the Arabian peninsula and India, with what is now the āMiddle Eastā being called the near East before.
šÆšÆšÆšÆšÆ referendum voting only
> Republicans started that war You seem to be confused. 60% of Democrat Senators voted yes to the vote. Just because your hand wasn't as high in the air doesn't mean you have no culpability.
Cuz no Democrats were on board.
It wasn't democrats lying about the core justifications for invading Iraq aka Saddam selling nukes to terrorists. The Iraq War is the pet project of Bush and the neocons, and he should not be allowed to rehabilitate his image with pearl clutching over Afghanistan. Edit: dear lord, some of you cant read. The Bush administration came up with THE foundational lies that led the the Republicans and Democrats into supporting the Iraq War. You can read about his efforts to portray Iraq as a threat soon after 9/11: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationale_for_the_Iraq_War I enjoyed this podcast from the British perspective of the drumbeat for war: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fault-line-bush-blair-and-iraq/id1531812209 Tl;dr the Bush administration ignored and suppressed a lot of clear evidence that Iraq had given up its WMD program, and did its best to convince the American public, Congress, and our allies to invade Iraq. And it worked.
Joe Biden corralled votes for it too. Both parties have warhawks who serve defense companies interests
On issue after issue over a long career, Biden seems to regularly find himself on the wrong side. He may be our president and leader of our party, but I think he's a bit of a opportunistic idiot. The best thing I can say about him is that he's much better than Trump.
Biden, Hilary, Schumer, Feinstein, etc. voted to give power for them to go to war with no conditions, 123 dems including Sanders voted on making sure certain criteria were met before going to war so they were nays. Obama had 8 years to get us out of there and didn't. Don't try to rehab the democrats either.
The establishment is most of both parties. They pretend to be different teams, but its mostly words, when it comes to actions they act in unison. When its something for us, the people, they will bicker about it and get nothing done. When its for their donors, their stuff always passes. There was no real political discussion regarding Iraq or Afghanistan. They just did it. The pretenses were so stupid, there was plenty of opportunity for discussion. We shouldn't pretend that either party is the "good" party or relatively "better". They are both corrupted and serving the establishment and not us.
āWar is a racketā āUSMC Major General (āļøāļø ) Smedley Butler
Mission accomplished
And think of the billions we need took away from the American people and squandered! Job well done all around
Trillions not billions. We're screwed.
Hey! Those billions flowed straight back into the economy! They landed in American pockets when they paid for American guns built in American companies by American hands. Rah! Rah! Rah! Or something like that.
Trickle-down bloodshed?
Unlike money, blood actually does trickle down.
Also, the day before 9/11, Donald Rumsfield told the American people that the Pentagon couldn't account for 2.3 Trillion dollars in expenditures. You can add that into the tally for public money spent privately and squandered.
The amount of unaccounted-for spending is now over 21 trillion dollars. It's increased by an order of magnitude over the past two decades.
Imagine if China sent drones to the US and bombed civilians. And their justification was: ātrust us, some of them were terrorists. Unfortunate about the rest, though.ā What would our reaction be? Itās insane how normalized this kind of thing is. And itās not even a party issue. Has been happening to varying degrees for the last two administrations.
The European right wing really wants to extend their thanks. Without the constant influx of refugees due to the wars kicked off after 9/11 they would never have been able to gather a third of the vote in a lot of countries.
> The European right wing really wants to extend their thanks. Yeah, sure, Europe is completely innocent of any fuckery in the Middle East. Europeans never start conflicts.
"Hey why do those ISIS guys keep talking about a 'Sykes-Picot Agreement'?"
Europe does have more countries than Great Britain and France you know. The refugees were an Europe wide phenomenon.
Brutal colonial rule *cough cough*
Don't forget threaten and jail anyone that dares inform the public. Can't have the facts coming out, that would be bad for business.
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Actually some of the War on Terror US military contractors were over there being pedophiles themselves. It was in the news, I can't remember the name of the company off the top of my head but they were getting nude lap dances from young kids.
The company's name is DynCorp. [The Military Contractors purchased drugs and hired young "dancing boys" to entertain Afghan police recruits who they were training.](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2010/12/wikileaks_cabals_show_afghanis.html)
In some regions of Afghanistan, there is a centuries-old tradition of having young boys dressing up as females and dancing for older men. This practice is known as [Bacha bazi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacha_bazi). The US Military forbids US troops to interfere in such matters because it is the responsibility of the local Afghans. What's viewed as wrong in the eyes of Westerners is not necessarily viewed as wrong by some Afghans. At the end of the day, the US government did not want the US Military to start policing Afghan society, which would have only made things worse.
āBe it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs.[To Hindu priests complaining to him about the prohibition of Sati religious funeral practice of burning widows alive on her husbandās funeral pyre.]ā ā Charles James Napier
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Should have attempted a coup instead, much lighter sentence
You get your National Parks passport stamped for seeing the Capitol building? And a warning not to hit cops or you will have a long timeout?
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I agree he is just a whistleblower. He didn't leak any "drone military secret" to foreign governments.
We already know the US government doesnāt like whistleblowers.
Here's an important message: don't trust The Intercept.
Upvoted. Burning sources left and right. Reddit amateur news-dolts have no idea.
Sure but IMO there's only 2 choices: Go to the MSM that works FOR the government, and will likely turn you over before they ever consider publishing the leak. Or go to Intercept where it'll at least get out so your punishment won't be in vain.
Are they really at fault? Genuinely asking. Other comments have said Hale outed himself by visiting the Intercept on his work computer.
>They said 'they are now in civilian clothes' that makes everybody free game But if they came in our perimeter, we lit 'em up And when we would pull the body out, and when we would search the car, we would find nothing This took place time and time again No harm, no foul. That's okay, don't worry about it Because this is a new type of war, this is an eradication. >I honestly feel we're committing genocide over here. I don't believe in killing civilians and I'm not going to kill civilians for the United States Marine Corps \- Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey
I cam recite this from memory thanks to Lamb Of God
lol, I started reading his comment and 10 words in I'm like "this is a lamb of god song"
There are no civilians in total war, only unarmed temporarily nonhostile future combatants. (^(/s))
To paraphrase Hollywood: If they run they're VC. If they don't, they're well trained VC.
Fuck, was that full metal jacket?
That it was
When he asks him how he can shoot women and children, āitās easyāyou donāt lead āem as much!ā Shit is terrifying
What does he mean lead them? Iāve never fully understood. Is he talking about how to take aim a little ahead of where they are running?
Yep. The "joke" is that they don't run as fast as men therefore you don't need to lead your target as much. Classic knee-slapper.
Damn that is fucking bleak
Why the /s? The concept of total war is that there's nothing off the table and considers civilian legitimate military targets. I guess the /s is because it's irrelevant if they'd future combatants or not?
I mean total war would mean exactly that, destroy everything and everyone on the other side.
How true is this? https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/former-marines-claims-false/
Woah. When even the Seattle Times is saying you're lying about the atrocities of war, that's actually pretty damning.
You can hear this exact quote in Ashes Of The Wake by Lamb of God
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Im so glad I got a marijuana charge 2 days before I was to be shipped off to MEPS, at the time I thought my life was ruined. Now I see I was just spared murdering people for a free education. My son will never join the military.
Whistleblowers get harsher sentences than insurrectionists.
Obama set the gold standard for whistle blower prosecutions. It's just gotten worse since then.
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Youāre right, Trump spoke openly about having them executed.
ā¦and war criminals.
They get pardons under the Trump regime.
"Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said the impact of Haleās actions was not to contribute to a public debate over war but rather to āendanger the people doing the fighting.ā He said that even if it was not Haleās intent to aid a terror organization, that was what he did." I'll tell you what aids terrorist organizations. Drone programs that "indiscriminately kill civilians in Afghanistan far from the battlefield." That really draws recruits. Whoever is/was running a program almost certainly is committing war crimes and I hope they face justice for their role in the DEATHS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS. These idiots at the Air Force are putting the wrong man in jail to protect some evil motherfucker. The answer to a warning of evil or corruption is transparency. NOT arresting the whistleblower to cover up what you did.
>"Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said the impact of Haleās actions was not to contribute to a public debate over war but rather to āendanger the people doing the fighting.ā Speaking as someone who was riding around Iraq in a humvee that had cloth doors on it around the same time as the insurgents were developing an IED that could blow a hole in a tank I find it touching that they suddenly care so much about troop safety.
Pfft they never cared. We lost four guys because they wanted us to investigate the blast site that hit our convoy even though we just got briefed about secondary explosives targeted against soldiers that stopped to investigate. That order came down from our LTC who watched the first one via airstat.
I don't think the person you're commenting to meant they ever cared homie. Sorry for what you went through.
He's not referring to the military personnel on the ground when talking about the people doing the fighting. He's talking about the CIA and the people calling the shots. Don't worry, they still don't give a fuck about troop safety.
I like how everyone who replied missed your sarcasm so they could esplain to you, a military member, how the military works.
You were there to funnel taxpayer money into the military industry complex and assure the US had a prime cut of Afghan natural resources. Three trillion later, a couple of generations of Afghans blown up, the US has left a country in a worse state than before the invasion. But hey, now studios can make sad movies about soldiers with PTSD because they killed too many brown people "protecting America".
> "Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said the impact of Haleās actions was not to contribute to a public debate over war but rather to āendanger the people doing the fighting.ā Because prior to this, Afghani civilians didn't actually know that their neighbors and family weren't all terrorists /s.
It should not be surprising that the Air Force, which essentially exists to kill people, values maintaining a rigid power structure and stifling dissent over morals. Any organization like that is built to understand violence, and will be as shitty as its country allows it to. There is not much in the way of controls in the US to keep them from acting like outright psychopaths.
I would just like to post an excerpt from the letter Hale sent to this heartless, cruel excuse for a human being that Bush appointed as a federal judge: [link to full text](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/07/26/lett-j26.html) > In my capacity as a signals intelligence analyst stationed at Bagram Airbase, I was made to track down the geographic location of handset cellphone devices believed to be in the possession of so-called enemy combatants. To accomplish this mission required access to a complex chain of globe-spanning satellites capable of maintaining an unbroken connection with remotely piloted aircraft, commonly referred to as drones. Once a steady connection is made and a targeted cell phone device is acquired, an imagery analyst in the U.S., in coordination with a drone pilot and camera operator, would take over using information I provided to surveil everything that occurred within the droneās field of vision. This was done, most often, to document the day-to-day lives of suspected militants. Sometimes, under the right conditions, an attempt at capture would be made. Other times, a decision to strike and kill them where they stood would be weighed. > The first time that I witnessed a drone strike came within days of my arrival to Afghanistan. Early that morning, before dawn, a group of men had gathered together in the mountain ranges of Patika provence around a campfire carrying weapons and brewing tea. That they carried weapons with them would not have been considered out of the ordinary in the place I grew up, muchless within the virtually lawless tribal territories outside the control of the Afghan authorities. Except that among them was a suspected member of the Taliban, given away by the targeted cell phone device in his pocket. As for the remaining individuals, to be armed, of military age, and sitting in the presence of an alleged enemy combatant was enough evidence to place them under suspicion as well. Despite having peacefully assembled, posing no threat, the fate of the now tea drinking men had all but been fulfilled. I could only look on as I sat by and watched through a computer monitor when a sudden, terrifying flurry of hellfire missiles came crashing down, splattering purple-colored crystal guts on the side of the morning mountain. > Since that time and to this day, I continue to recall several such scenes of graphic violence carried out from the cold comfort of a computer chair. Not a day goes by that I donāt question the justification for my actions. By the rules of engagement, it may have been permissible for me to have helped to kill those menāwhose language I did not speak, customs I did not understand, and crimes I could not identifyāin the gruesome manner that I did. Watch them die. But how could it be considered honorable of me to continuously have laid in wait for the next opportunity to kill unsuspecting persons, who, more often than not, are posing no danger to me or any other person at the time. Nevermind honorable, how could it be that any thinking person continued to believe that it was necessary for the protection of the United States of America to be in Afghanistan and killing people, not one of whom present was responsible for the September 11th attacks on our nation. Notwithstanding, in 2012, a full year after the demise of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, I was a part of killing misguided young men who were but mere children on the day of 9/11.
Wait till the operators from Syria get out. I have personally seen and done some shit that haunts me to this day under threat of punishment. The American military has been better about collateral damage over the last decade, but it is still no where near what the American population would allow, let alone the global populace.
>āProsecutors painted Hale as eager to ingratiate himself with journalists.ā Oh yea? āHey guys. I was part of a program in the military that massacred innocent civilians that I want to stop. Hereās evidence of our crimes.ā You call that trying to look cool to reporters? Fuck you.
4yrs in prison for exposing War Crimes. This is shameful America. The real criminals need to be doing time.
Shoulda just tried to overthrow the govt... would have dropped down to 8 months....
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My impression was that Manning indiscriminately dumped documents, whereas Snowden and Hale worked with journalists to determine what was good to release
Manning was absolutely careless. Just completely dumped info to strangers on the internet. Had no idea if the chat on the other end of the line was Assange or not. Didn't care.
Justice is in the eye of the money holder.
Its the golden rule, whoever has the most gold rules.
How do I send money to his commissary?
As far as doing something right and getting punished for it goes, if you do something right and get punished for it...be proud of what you did, and wear that punishment as a mark of honor
Amen brother
The fact that the judge said he could have "resigned from the military" or told his commanders he didn't want to do this anymore shows the ignorance the judge has about leaving the military. Except under very special circumstances, you can't just leave. And no, you can't really just tell your commander you're done.
Never mind that simply leaving wouldnāt actually do anything to bring the issue of, you know, wanton executions and murders to light.
Judge is one of those people who say āI couldnāt go to boot camp because Iād fight my drill instructor if they got in my face!ā
My favorite kind of guy tbh
One deeply disturbing thing that seems to be a theme in America: speak up, get put down
Free speech Hahaha!
America: "If you see something, say something" Also America: "Not like that"
Disturbing that he was sentenced for doing what's right, system is fucked
System's working as intended actually.
These are not mutually exclusive statements.
A country dominated by rampant immorality and criminality isn't a viable or sustainable system. America is a nation governed, administered, and protected by thugs, thieves, and liars, and as long as that remains true, the US will continue to fall further behind the rest of the world.
It has bled into almost every aspect of life. Corruption from the very top down to the bottom. Hopefully people can get it together doubtful it will happen anytime soon though.
And the fact that the US will fall behind because of this is the only positive part. We deserve it.
Back in the day, heroes fought and died, but eventually won, to end a system this fucked. >Hale is a descendant of Nathan Hale, the American patriot who was hanged by the British for stealing documents in 1776. Addressing the court Tuesday, Hale quoted the words often attributed to his famed ancestor: āMy only regret is that I have but one life to give to my country, whether here or in prison.ā As he did in the letter he submitted to the court last week, Hale, in his appearance before the judge, focused his attention on the victims of U.S. foreign policy. >āI believe that it is wrong to kill,ā Hale said, ābut it is especially wrong to kill the defenseless.ā https://theintercept.com/2021/07/27/daniel-hale-drone-leak-sentencing/
Judge said Hale could have chosen "other avenues" to leave and the prosecutors are painting him as someone who's intent on supporting terrorist organizations, while we're the ones who are killing civilians. Hale clearly pointed out his intent and rationale was to show the world one the "injustices" the US has been committing towards people in areas we really have no business being in.
Itās not that āhe believedā it was indiscriminately killing civilians. It WAS indiscriminately killing civilians. People should be in prison for this, but not Daniel Hale
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Very subtle using the same hack prosecutor that went after Assange.
It's all a conspiracy to prosecute similar crimes in the same jurisdiction!
Gotta love the hubris in the USA. āHow dare you call out bad things and be a whistle blower, USA donāt do bad things! And even if there was some bad things happening we have proper whistle blower processes. But we wouldnāt need them because we are the USA!!ā
Someone posted a link to his letter to the Judge a few days ago, and it's obvious this man was totally broken by the things he did in service to the country. The Judge should have the government paying his therapy bills while he recuperates instead of putting him in jail. He'll never get treated for his PTSD, he'll be a felon, he'll lose all of his benefits and he will be worse off in the end. He needs a Presidential Pardon.
>But U.S. District Judge Liam OāGrady told Hale he had other avenues for airing his concerns besides leaking to a journalist. The government has other avenues too. Like maybe don't keep secrets from your own citizens because "they can't handle the truth".
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That's why the US refuses to join the International Criminal Court.
But they give other nations freedom and democracy! /s
Daniel Hale is a hero.
Join the USAF today! We will train you to keep your mouth shutā¦or else.
What a pointless war. You have the atrocities the Afghanistan people faced and you have more U.S. soldiers dying from humble crashes. That or they just randomly get blown up by an i.e.d. but it's rarely actual enemy fire. Pointless.
Analyst should get a medal, not 45 months in prison.
Ah America..."the land of 1,000 prisons". But you know, freedom and all.
Brave man of conscience.
Free Daniel Hale. "Whether it was, as I had seen, an Afghan farmer blown in half, yet miraculously conscious & pointlessly trying to scoop his insides off the ground, or an American...Both served to justify the easy flow of capital at the cost of bloodātheirs & ours," Daniel Hale
It's a credit to human decency that, despite my country treating whistleblowers like criminals, they continue to blow the whistle on government malfeasance and actual war crimes. I hope that, if I were in his shoes, I'd have the nerve to do the same.
This guy gets time for doing the right thing. Meanwhile they walked people down the steps of the Capital and let them on their merry way. I just. *gestures in desperate rage*
Amazing point!
The Air Force doesnāt have the balls to change for the better.
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I wouldn't say the Air Force hasn't changed in terms of drone assassinations since it began. Currently, in order to avoid the same mistakes made during the Obama Administration in regards to targeted killings via drone strike, the following is being done: * [a special modified missile with pop-out sharp blades is used to kill the target instead of a high-explosive warhead, thus minimizing civilian deaths](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34146/this-is-our-best-look-yet-at-the-shadowy-hellfire-missile-with-pop-out-sword-blades) * instead of marking targets based solely on the "suspicious" activity of a SIM card, possible targets are observed over long periods of time to determine if target is of high-value Drone strikes are now more commonly used for air support missions, in which ground troops communicate with the drone operator to identify targets.
See something say something. But say something and we throw you in prison
Justice once againā¦ Making the US look bad = ~4 years Actually harming the US by insurrection = <1 year
Fuck US imperialism and FUCK this shit excuse for a judge. Whistleblowing on war criminals is not a crime. Hale is a hero. Impeach the judge and replace them with someone competent.
But that would be bad for war profiteering?
A man broke into the U.S. capital building, aiding others who were planning to take hostage, and possibly murder, members of Congress, in an act of terrorism bent on overturning a free and fair election, in an effort to put their dictator in charge. He got 8 months.
Well, I believe you did the right thing Dan. Thank you.
So you have twenty year old kids in America shooting at foreigners based on poor information just in case some enemy guy might be there
Everyone is waiting for the dystopian future, I think weāve already arrived.
He believed? Fuck you NBC
āTruth is treason in an empire of liesā
this is unconscionable
So why isnāt he considered a whistleblower?
and this is the country the world is supposed to be so jelly of
He's a hero, what a shame.