By Matt Agorist
Under a Freedom of Information Act request, a Pentagon inspector general made public a report last week, admitting to the use of drones to spy on U.S. citizens.
The missions were non-military in nature, meaning they were used for domestic spying purposes. Naturally, the Pentagon is claiming it broke no laws in the deployment of said drones and contends that the flights were rare.
A senior policy analyst for the ACLU, Jay Stanley, said it is good news no legal violations were found, yet the technology is so advanced that it’s possible laws may require revision, according to USA TODAY.
“Sometimes, new technology changes so rapidly that existing law no longer fit what people think are appropriate,” Stanley said. “It’s important to remember that the American people do find this to be a very, very sensitive topic.”
“The appetite to use them (spy drones) in the domestic environment to collect airborne imagery continues to grow, as does Congressional and media interest in their deployment,” stated the report, quoting a military law review article.
The idea of US military drones flying over the heads of US citizens and monitoring them is ominous, which explains why the Pentagon has kept it secret — despite the contention of breaking no laws.
While the report on domestic drone use was completed in March of 2015, it was only quietly released last week.
The units who have been operating the drones stated to the inspector general they want to fly more missions domestically. “Multiple units told us that as forces using the UAS capabilities continue to draw down overseas, opportunities for UAS realistic training and use have decreased,” the report said.
However, drone usage overseas has not been reduced, and, in fact, their use has skyrocketed under the current administration. Just last year, the Pentagon announced that they had plans to sharply expand the number of U.S. drone flights over the next four years, giving military commanders access to more intelligence and greater firepower to keep up with a sprouting number of global hot spots.
According to USA TODAY:
Shortly before the inspector general report was completed a year ago, the Pentagon issued a new policy governing the use of spy drones. It requires the defense secretary to approve all domestic spy drone operations. It says that unless permitted by law and approved by the secretary, drones “may not conduct surveillance on U.S. persons.” It also bans the use of armed drones over the United States for anything other training and testing.
Now, all the military has to do to fly weaponized drones over US citizens is say they are training.
The use of military gear on US citizens has sharply increased over the last decade as police departments have become heavily militarized with weapons once used on the battlefield. Now, instead of giving these weapons to police departments, the military seems to be conducting their own missions against US citizens.
As the military industrial complex continues to march forward, it appears that the wars in the Middle East are merely a pretext for what’s to come for Americans at home.
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Matt Agorist is a co-founder of TheFreeThoughtProject.com where this article first appeared. He’s an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist
Explain to me how this program does not fall under ‘posse commatatis’?
Well it doesn’t because……………………………………………………………………………..they say so.
“senior policy analyst for the ACLU, Jay Stanley, said it is good news no legal violations were found”
We investigated ourselves and found nothing wrong.
If it’s the US Army or US Air Force, it is a violation of Posse Commatatis. If is is the state sponsored (but Federal Funded) Nation Guard or Air National Guard performing the actions it does not go against the PC act….but the drones must be used in Law Enforcement in the State that the National Guard is operating within….that is my take. So some more information must be gleaned from this incident.
Drones are going to be falling out of the sky. Go out and practice on doves. If you can hit them, a drone should be a piece of cake.
The problem is they fly so high and fast that you can’t see them with the naked eye.
well, how bout binoculars? Or would someone need something stronger? A telescope?
Does not the defense sec. work for the pentagon?
And also a Non-elected, and therefore totally unaccountable to the American people.
This is not a shock. If a country has a long history of destroying democracy domestically and internationally its only natural to be paranoid and start spying on people.
Oh but they did conveniently already make it against the law to shoot one down.
Thanks for the heads-up, Matt. Please keep on this story.
The U.S. Must NOT become another East Germany, or USSR, or Red China. This is reprehensible stuff. Not to be condoned. What are we, cattle to these people? To be corralled, and culled, at the will of the federal government?? Not in MY country, you won’t.
OOps,
too late, it already is
Can’t wait for the next revolutionary war, this country needs to deal with all these constitutional traitors..
posse commatatis was suspended by Ovomit.
Reports that get “quietly released” means, someone just broke the law.
So “military Drone” missions are to gather information, RIGHT?
Then those are MILITARY spy missions – which makes them MILITARY reconnaissance missions.
Since military drones are able to carry military weapons, what proof is there that the drones flying over our heads don’t have lethal weapons attached to the wings RIGHT NOW? No proof! Do you think they would EVER admit to it anyway….NO WAY!
If it walks like a duck; looks like a duck; and quacks like a duck then, you’re looking at a duck!
If is flies like a military drone; looks like a military drone; and communicates information like a military drone then, it’s a military drone weapon being used on American soil for military operations. Duh!
Governments only respect people’s rights when the public forces them to.