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The Dreaded Drone
Sultan Knish ^ | March 10, 2013 | Daniel Greenfield

Posted on 03/11/2013 6:02:58 AM PDT by expat1000

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To: jboot
So the mildly incompetent Argentine dictatorship was able to "disappear" thousands of people, their bodies never found, in the 1970s. Even a micro-UAV poison dart strike leaves a body. If the government wants to do me in a couple decent agents with a moderate amount of legwork could grab me, kill me, and dispose of the body, and I'd just be a missings persons case.

21 posted on 03/11/2013 6:54:16 AM PDT by Strategerist
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To: Strategerist

Points taken. I did not claim that drones are more advantageous that traditional wetwork operations, only that they have their own advantages which will become stronger over time. Of the methods you posit both are stealthy. The umbrella is both stealthy and deniable, while the car bomb will require significant post-op effort to acheive deniablity. I am not so sure about compartmentalization in either case. Both require significant planning: the target’s schedule must be determined, the target’s habits analyzed, the target’s countermeasures defeated. The operations must run over a period of time, and the longer they run the more operatives may become involved and more evidence is produced. As I said elsewhere, with a UAV there need only be two people aware of the target, and they are free to monitor him at their leisure and choose the perfect moment for the kill.


22 posted on 03/11/2013 6:57:58 AM PDT by jboot (This isn't your father's America. Stay safe and keep your powder dry.)
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To: Strategerist
A LOT of regimes successfully "dissapeared" numbers of inconvenient people a few generations back. Until recently it was quite easy. With modern forensics and information dissemination it would be difficult (impossible, actually) to run such operations today without them being rapidly exposed.

Small-scale operations surely take place as you describe. It does not negate the possiblity that domestic drones have great potential for abuse.

23 posted on 03/11/2013 7:06:00 AM PDT by jboot (This isn't your father's America. Stay safe and keep your powder dry.)
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To: Strategerist

IRS


24 posted on 03/11/2013 7:08:03 AM PDT by Nailbiter
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To: expat1000

Should a president wish, all he has to do is claim that his life was threatened by any individual. Thus would begin a multi-year, multi-million dollar ordeal for the citizen. Hey, the citizen might even get convicted.


25 posted on 03/11/2013 7:20:44 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Don't fire until you see the blue of their helmets)
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To: expat1000

I disagree.


26 posted on 03/11/2013 8:27:51 AM PDT by GOPJ (DHS HAS secured: 1.6 BILLION bullets - 2.700 tanks and 35,000 drones ...to use on American soil...)
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27 posted on 03/11/2013 8:31:49 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: expat1000

Daniel Greenfield is frighteningly naive’.


28 posted on 03/11/2013 8:33:39 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt

Don’t kid yourself, Conservatives will have their turn soon enough. They are already in the hopper, their turn just hasn’t came up yet.


29 posted on 03/11/2013 8:34:29 AM PDT by sport
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To: expat1000

I’m thinking the feds would more resort to setting a timed IED to kill opponents, since drones are now getting some attention. How difficult would it be to enter a residence, set the device, and after detonation, send in compliant FBI types who will “conclude” it was a criminal act perpetrated by someone at a local level.


30 posted on 03/11/2013 8:38:43 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Gun control: Steady firm grip, target within sights, squeeze the trigger slowly...)
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To: jboot
You make good points but there a couple I think you missed:

1. Drone strikes only involve the target's life: the shooter is not risked. If the government is actually considering using these things against us (remember that they said that they would only use these on American citizens "in combat". Waco comes to mind as "combat" in their view).

2. The target is reachable anywhere - in their homes, on the road, on vacation, etc.

3. The attack is nearly always a surprise - another advantage for the shooter. Similar to a sniper attack but with even less risk.

4. There is virtually no defense against a drone attack. If they know where you are or even suspect it, you're hit. Hitting a drone first is almost impossible. While I was still on active duty, we had drone targets for our .50 caliber machingunners. Despite thousands of rounds fired and a lot of sincere application, none of the targets were ever hit.

This is the first generation of anonymous warfare. This is only the beginning.

31 posted on 03/11/2013 8:39:28 AM PDT by Chainmail (A simple rule of life: if you can be blamed, you're responsible.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Exactly how does your post — which has also shown up verbitum on other threads — relate to this story?


32 posted on 03/11/2013 8:41:09 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Gun control: Steady firm grip, target within sights, squeeze the trigger slowly...)
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To: ScottinVA

verbitum=verbatim


33 posted on 03/11/2013 8:43:08 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Gun control: Steady firm grip, target within sights, squeeze the trigger slowly...)
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To: expat1000
Unlike the militarization of civilian law enforcement, military drones are not a threat to Americans.

Who says it will be a military drone?


34 posted on 03/11/2013 8:51:30 AM PDT by Half Vast Conspiracy (Based on a letter from an 8 year oldÂ…school is now illegal...'cuz itÂ’s yuckey and dumb'.)
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To: expat1000

“Surveillance drones are going to be used extensively at home, and that is a serious issue, but armed drones are not likely to be because the United States is not hostile territory.”

Ha! We shall see.


35 posted on 03/11/2013 9:08:42 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: expat1000

This video might have been around for awhile but I first seen it a few days ago. It’s Quantico from 17,000 feet and it’s called ARGUS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13BahrdkMU8&feature=player_embedded


36 posted on 03/11/2013 9:18:11 AM PDT by MurrietaMadman
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To: Chainmail
Good points. I'm sure there are more. This technology is just getting revved up.

Interesting that you fired M2s against drone targets. No hits obtained is not surprising. It is very tough to hit a point with a point. (My dad's unit had a 100% kill ratio against drones, but they were lobbing Nike Hercules's at 1960's era RCATs, not .50 ball at stealth Predators. I did get a nice drone propellor out of the deal.) If I wanted to fight a drone, I'd get one of these. It's not much, but it has more chance of hitting than a rifle.

37 posted on 03/11/2013 9:49:36 AM PDT by jboot (This isn't your father's America. Stay safe and keep your powder dry.)
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To: expat1000

Please put me on your PING List for Dan Greenfield.


38 posted on 03/12/2013 7:27:48 PM PDT by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Commune Obama"care" violates Anti-Trust Laws, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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To: Graewoulf

Welcome to the Sultan Knish/Daniel Greenfield ping list!


39 posted on 03/12/2013 7:46:33 PM PDT by expat1000
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