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Panetta Shines Some Light -- But Not Much -- with Casual Asides about CIA’s Secret Drone Program
NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy — There was a time when U.S. officials wouldn’t breathe a word about the CIA’s clandestine use of Predator drones.
US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaks during a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. On Friday, Panetta joked to an auditorium full of troops at a base in Naples, Italy, that “obviously I have a helluva lot more weapons available to me in this job than I had at the CIA.” Then he added, as an aside, “Although the Predators aren’t that bad.” (AFP Photo/Thierry Charlier) Now it seems that the veil is lifting, at least a bit.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta — a former CIA director — is occasionally weaving the CIA’s unmanned aircraft into his remarks.
On Friday, he joked to an auditorium full of troops at a base in Naples, Italy, that “obviously I have a helluva lot more weapons available to me in this job than I had at the CIA.” Then he added, as an aside, “Although the Predators aren’t that bad.”
And at a stop at Sigonella air station a short time later, he was ticking off the attributes of the coalition forces there who have been participating in the Libya operation.
Standing in front of a Global Hawk surveillance drone, he observed that the troops have used the unarmed aircraft in missions over Libya, as well as the armed Predators. And then he added that the Predators were “something I was very familiar with in my last job.”
During Panetta’s tenure at the CIA, the use of armed drones to target insurgents, particularly inside the borders of Pakistan, escalated and expanded. And just last week, a CIA Predator was used in a strike in Yemen to kill U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a key al-Qaida figure in the Arabian Peninsula.
The CIA’s use of drones to strike militants in Pakistan — largely those who are involved in launching attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan — has drawn sharp criticism from Islamabad and cries that the missions violate the country’s sovereignty.
At no time did Panetta mention any of the countries or CIA operations where the drones were used — saying only that he finds them to be a key weapon.
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23 Comments so far
Show AllDEA would find the drones useful looking for fields of pot. Does setting fire to a lot of MJ, make it a "field of dreams"?
Panetta looks like a consigliere, talks like a thug, and acts like a war criminal. The arrogant, oleaginous face of empire. Makes me want to vomit.
Panetta isn't the only one. A while back the president "jokingly" threatened to use predator drones against anyone trying to hit on his daughters. And remember way back when the now sainted Ronald Reagan was "kiddingly" saying that we start bombing Russia in five minutes? Exposes a great dirty secret -- power, especially the power to inflict military death -- is fun for them.
The death penalty too is fun for them -- remember the video of President Junior making fun of the pleas for mercy of that woman he was about to have executed?
For intended public consumption, they get all solemn and sentimental about "our service men and women and the sacrifices they make" while at the same time giving them psych meds to get them back into combat action but after they're discharged and done, denying them medical care -- presumably while chuckling.
Power corrupts absolutely
Ethically challenged seems the proper phrase here. But payback is a . . .-- let the bad guys think about it. Can you say blowback?
Hopefully that blowback will come when they are residing in hell.
What sick f-cks joke about killing millions of people just because they occupy a land whose resources the corporations want?
Do any of them ever even think about the kids they blow apart?
Bush joked about looking for WMDS and the press laughed. While many innocent civilians were dying.
Sociopaths.
This is a sick, sick man. No wonder he has had such a great career in our federal government and with Obama. He is the perfect fit. And I believe he has been both a republican and democrat - actually the same thing.
Maybe he can retire and go on the Board of Goldman Sachs or some weapons manufacturer.
Wow, didn't think we could do worse than Rumsfeild, but apparently we can and did. I guess that's the "CHANGE" we all voted for. Right up their with appointing Goldman Sach's alumni to set Washington policy on Wall St. reforms.
This pompous ass Panetta is only one more Bill "Slick Willy" Clinton retread that Barry recruited to lead Amerika toward the totalitarian police-state that the country has become.
Creeps like Panetta and the rest of the fascist lickspittles, that populate the fascist government, should take heed. The 99% are awakening from their decades-long stupor and they are angry!
I've long felt a seething rage all across the country, a rage fed even more by a feeling of helplessness. It looks as though the worm may be turning...
It seems the Obama Administration/media may be exaggerating the level of involvement in al-Qaida:
"And just last week, a CIA Predator was used in a strike in Yemen to kill U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a key al-Qaida figure in the Arabian Peninsula."
Thankfully, Jeremy Scahill has taken the time to properly research this subject. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTBb63rSj6M&feature=related
DoctorNoctivagant, thanks for the link to the excellent interview with Scahill. I've never seen the interviewer (Alyona?) before. Very impressive.
Another sociopathic member of the 1%.
We are the 99%.
It deserves to be repeated in full:
Obama, during a well-received performance at the prestigious Beltway debauch known as the "2010 White House Correspondents Dinner", joked that the "Jonas Brothers" boy band was apparently in the audience, and that Obama's daughters were infatuated with them.
Obama's comic premise was a self-deprecating reference to himself as an overprotective father. Let's go to the transcript*:
"The Jonas Brothers are here. (Applause.) They're out there somewhere. Sasha and Malia are huge fans. But, boys, don't get any ideas.
(Laughter.) I have two words for you -- predator drones. (Laughter.) You will never see it coming. (Laughter.) You think I'm joking.
(Laughter.)"
As noted in the transcript, the sycophantic crowd went wild.
I presume that Obama's wisecracks weren't tested with Afghan or Pakistani focus groups. They weren't invited to the dinner, after all.
Aleph Null's 1:49pm comment-- "Panetta looks like a consigliere, talks like a thug, and acts like a war criminal. The arrogant, oleaginous face of empire. Makes me want to vomit." trenchantly sums it up.
I can't be bothered digging up specific citations, but more than one corporate mass-media infotainwhore and even "alternative" mass-media progressive liberal pundit on CD have regarded Panetta with cordial respect.
That is, compared to the likes of Cheney, Rumsfeld, or even George Tenet or John Poindexter, Panetta has been characterized as a fundamentally decent, humane Washington utility bureaucrat. They don't use this term, but the gist of it is that Panetta is judged to be a relatively "cool" guy.I find Aleph Null's description much more accurate.
__________________
* http://projects.washingtonpost.com/obama-speeches/speech/240/
Your portrait has the ring of truth, but you nearly make him sound interesting, Visiting Professor. My impression of Panetta is more along the lines of Hannah Arendt's depiction of Adolf Eichmann in A Report on the Banality of Evil. He's a tedious bureaucrat with no shred of decency, dotting all the i's and crossing the t's and consigning thousands to horrible deaths with a rubber stamp.
Sounds a lot like Oblahblah.
Always looks constipated. Rightfully so since he's so full of shit. Perhaps a well enema-tipped drone up his ass might provide some relief – for everyone.
Just kidding. Of course I'm speaking figuratively.
Panetta reportedly says, "obviously I have a helluva lot more weapons available to me in this job than I had at the CIA . . . Although the Predators aren’t that bad.”
The man is joking about his anticipated enjoyment in using weapons of mass destruction and his past, as well as anticipated, pleasure in using drones -- among the most effective weapons ever designed for terrorizing people. Why doesn't the AP find it newsworthy to report that many of us find such remarks highly offensive and damaging to what's left of the honor of the United States?
"Why doesn't the AP find it newsworthy to report that many of us find such remarks highly offensive and damaging to what's left of the honor of the United States? "
Because the throughly unethical clowns in the American media who call themselves "journalists" (including "liberal" NPR) think these "jokes" are hilarious and that drones themselves are "way cool".
The media decides what is acceptable -- and what is "patriotic" -- and has willingly and joyfully facilitated our country's slide into the gutter.
Just look at the fawning peices NPR prioduces about drones.
http://nprcheck.blogspot.com/2011/03/npr-drones-and-disappearing-civilian.html
What is most disgusting is the "cheerleading" way that NPR and other "journalists" ( iuse the term very loosely) deal with the issue.
"Yeah, MOFOs, we're Americans and you're gonna remember that after we put a hellfire missile up your butt....Or maybe you won't remember anything, ha ha, ha....This is NPR, National Public Radio" ( Disclaimer for any morons at NPR: that's not a real quote from anyone at NPR, just the "attitude" projected by NPR and other members o fthe media)
It's enough to make you want to join the Republicans in pulling the plug on "public" radio entirely.
another fawning NPR piece on drones
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-07-06/drones-and-counterterrorism
and the blog "nprcheck" has done a good job of ducumenting NPR's "Drone Love fest"
http://nprcheck.blogspot.com/search/label/drones
Jimbojangles, thanks for the cite. Are there any MSM outlets doing any better?
Panetta is as sick and evil as Rumsfeld and the democrats appear to have no trouble with this at all. They are as bad as the republicans.