[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
The Guardian reported last week that a US drone over Pakistan launched four Hellfire missiles at a group of bad guy leadership in Pakistan, killing approximately 18 humans and two particular super-bad guys. All of this is classified and secret, the Guardian reporting was as always very careful to note its alleged news was essentially hearsay, none of it could or will be confirmed by any hard official source. Not wanting to be squishy in their facts and never daring to defy the US government over drone secrecy, the US journalism corps as always reported essentially nothing.
The alleged leader of Pakistan officially voiced vociferous indignation over gross violation of Pakistan airspace, sovereignty and lack of due process, but the Guardian reporting was plain to note this was merely oft-repeated bullshit, collusion between the governments of Pakistan and the US over this massively long and bloody drone campaign are of course starkly plain, why, to state otherwise would be to state that yes, it rained today, but without any clouds.
Since the US journalism corps are such secrecy weenies a few relevant points are worth noting yet again. Prolonged campaigns of armed aircraft that kill thousands of humans over another country’s airspace is an act of war, no other way to live with it, yet this ludicrous shroud of secrecy over drones even shuts up the US Congress, Secrecy and Security soothe their fear at night. Dianne Feinstein leads the way in oversight and its all good with her so it’s all good with the rest of them. Only Congress is supposed to declare war but, oh well, it’s just the Constitution, never mind. Right?
To our US secrecy killer leadership, how many more super bad buys are out there to hit with drones? Seriously, this has been going on for years, every time y’all kill some super-badass terrorist it’s leaked to the press (there are good leaks and bad leaks, the good leaks mean we’ve killed someone, the bad leaks means the 4th amendment has been imploded, dern, there’s that Constitution again), I guess that’s supposed to be reassuring, but, well, how many more super scary terrorist leaders can possibly be out there that are worth a $30,000 missile shot? An endless supply that never ends, seriously?
I suppose, if true, that the immolation of two super-killer terrorist bad guys is a good thing, but, well, what about the other sixteen dudes that got blown away too? Just hanging out with the wrong people is cause for another $30,000 missile shot? I see.
Many reports have surfaced that although $30,000 missile shots are allegedly super-accurate, naturally the intelligence behind them are total hokum and we’ve blown away a lot of innocent people in Pakistan, many of them women and children. Y’all set up some kangaroo court in the west wing to decide who to blow away—even if he or she is an American--so all these deaths of innocents $30,000 at a time must be necessary. Please explain.
A lot of innocent people who have done nothing wrong now live under constant deadly surveillance, even the most private personal evolutions get chatted over in trailers half a world away. Is that how Americans are supposed to walk free in this world?
[shrugs] An exercise of total futility, of course, it’s simply amazing how well this secrecy mantra over drones has shut up the US Congress and journalism corps. One can see how it would be so tempting to apply it to anything, my God if the Executive can squelch Congress and the press it’s Christmas every day for the President.
It’s allegedly worked extremely well for the National Security Administration and yet another kangaroo judicial cousin, the FISA “court.” Secrecy has smashed the 4th amendment to smithereens, whole new legal constructs that essentially abrogate the US Supreme Court have been put in place with no one knowing about it.
As painfully elaborated in the last work secrecy has been ludicrously applied to the new Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty, even simple trade policy can’t be talked about now. I’m still embarrassed as an American to see the Executive sink so low and be so shitty to the Democracy with just a treaty ratification, word is that someday the text will be made public, it’s a stall, it still makes no difference to the obnoxious Soviet Bloc style of governance to it all.
The NSA is secret, drones are secret, the TPP is secret, what’s next, the Farm Bill? It shouldn’t surprise any of us if it happens, secrecy has turned out to be an extremely powerful tonic our leadership is only too happy to apply anywhere.