Obama Administration okays Predator drones surveillance on US soil

[Rhinox]

Slippery slope etc

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/24...exican-border/

WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department will use unmanned surveillance aircraft and other technological upgrades in its ongoing effort to protect the southern border of the United States.
The department said Wednesday it has obtained Federal Aviation Administration permission to operate unmanned planes along the Texas border and throughout the Gulf Coast region. Customs and Border Protection will base a surveillance drone at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station in Texas.


Homeland Security also said it is working with the Office of National Drug Control Policy on "Project Roadrunner," a license plate recognition system designed to seek out possible drug traffickers.
And the department is collaborating with the Justice Department to improve information sharing between state, local and federal law enforcement agencies.


In a speech at the Center for International and Strategic Studies, a Washington think tank, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also announced a new partnership with the Major Cities Chiefs Association. The agreement would allow non-border cities to provide more assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies that are on the border.

Looks like Obama has given steroids to our ever growing police state.


How long before they start equipping them with hellfire missiles to keep dem damn dirty Mexicans out.

Lets keep pumping billions and billions on the war on drugs look how much we've succeeded so far!


inb4 modern warfarefags

[tyven]

brown people sucks, why wont they just stay out. black and white people should stop doing their drugs

[Rhinox]

Best part of the article and the reason I linked the Fox news story are the comments.


Pure comedy gold.

[Olo401]

You won't see me cheerleading the police state..

[Demosthenes11]

so what's obama gotta do for liberals to realize he is just a republican with a few liberal leanings

[*Shinzon*]

I don't really see an issue with this. Unless your a huge conspiracy freak, this does nothing but make surveillance, already used, cheaper and more efficient. Less people can control several drones. They use less fuel because they are smaller aircraft, and there is no danger to human pilots.

[Not not Mattaru]

so what's obama gotta do for liberals to realize he is just a republican with a few liberal leanings

Be white? Idk.

(Note: I am neither agreeing or disagreeing with Demo's statement)

[Rhinox]

I don't really see an issue with this. Unless your a huge conspiracy freak, this does nothing but make surveillance, already used, cheaper and more efficient. Less people can control several drones. They use less fuel because they are smaller aircraft, and there is no danger to human pilots.

Precedent.


Just like how the government has okay'd the assassination of an American.

People justify it by saying "well, he is a terrorist" without thinking about the precedent being set.

[*Shinzon*]

Precedent for what? I don't think I understand what your point is.This is project to be implemented for use along the border, which is actually already done. The government doesn't need a precedent or constitutional approval to dictate surveillance of the border. Again drones are already used to patrol both sides of the border using thermal imaging, this just streamlines their efforts by creating a database of license plates that already belong to the government.

[Rhinox]

Precedent for what? I don't think I understand what your point is.This is project to be implemented for use along the border, which is actually already done. The government doesn't need a precedent or constitutional approval to dictate surveillance of the border. Again drones are already used to patrol both sides of the border using thermal imaging, this just streamlines their efforts by creating a database of license plates that already belong to the government.

wrong

The department said Wednesday it has obtained Federal Aviation Administration permission to operate unmanned planes along the Texas border and throughout the Gulf Coast region.

if it was already done why did the FAA just approve it?

[wagon]

To be fair, there's a distinction between have the drones petrol the border and have them spy on NYC or some metropolitan city. Using drones at the border is much effective than building a 3000-mile fence because they are readily available, and I am quite sure the drones arent armed with missiles, which are just downright overkill.

[Acturus]

Hasn't precedent been set already by having surveillence satellites having the ability to map human activity on US soil?

[*Shinzon*]

wrong



if it was already done why did the FAA just approve it?

I know for a fact, though I'm at work and will have a hard time finding it, that drones are used to patrol certain portions of the border already, they fall within the same guidelines as choppers. I'll do my best to find it but I'm not sure I will.

Edit: Quick search of the LA Times brought this up:

Drone aircraft will be used to nab illegal immigrants on California-Mexico border
December 7, 2009 | 7:33 am

Predator drones, the unmanned aircraft used by the U.S. military in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, will soon be employed to track illegal immigrants on the Mexico-California border.

The drone, which will be unveiled later today, will be operated out of the Antelope Valley by the military contractor General Atomics. The drones will fly above the border region with advancing electronic tracking equipment looking for illegal immigrants crossing into California.

According to the San Diego-based company, the drones will transmit information to U.S. authorities on human smuggles as well drug smuggling.

Such drones are already used on the border of Texas and Arizona.

Border Patrol officials told SignOn San Diego that the drone would initially be used to monitor ocean area, which has been used by human smugglers.

-- Shelby Grad

That article was written in December, so yea they are already used.

[wagon]

Hasn't precedent been set already by having surveillence satellites having the ability to map human activity on US soil?

I think drones will be much better in spotting illegal immigrants. All we need is to equip them with a heat signature sense and night vision, along with an automatic notification system to border agents if some criteria are met (heat signature that of a human for example).

[SamanosukeShiva]

how much does it cost to operate a drone (pilot/fuel/operational costs)? money/time would be better spent on working toward a better immigration policies IMO

[Cephius]

how much does it cost to operate a drone (pilot/fuel/operational costs)? money/time would be better spent on working toward a better immigration policies IMO

Predator drones cost roughly $3 million each, fuel costs are insignificant really because the drones themselves are very light and can fly for near 2 days without being refueled. I believe it takes a team of 5 to operate it, but that's also for military operations I assume 2-3 people can do it if it's just surveillance. (there is no "pilot" these are unmanned aircraft)

By comparison, we spent $800 million on that stupid fence that ended up doing jack shit. Predators, slippery slope aside, are a much more cost effective option.

[Athas]

I was under the impression that everyone at BG hated slippery slope arguments?

I really have trouble finding a problem with this, as has been pointed out it's something that can be done fairly cheaply and is way less retarded then other alternatives (how building a wall became a popular idea I'll never understand). And any immigration policy still needs to have security in place to prevent illegal crossing (although there are certain people who are more gun-ho about it then they should).

[Demosthenes11]

Predator drones cost roughly $3 million each, fuel costs are insignificant really because the drones themselves are very light and can fly for near 2 days without being refueled. I believe it takes a team of 5 to operate it, but that's also for military operations I assume 2-3 people can do it if it's just surveillance. (there is no "pilot" these are unmanned aircraft)

lol?

[ZarakiKujata]

fucking predator drones, how do they work?

[Osede]

fucking predator drones, how do they work?

flight simulator