Brookings Institution
Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution and author of Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry and Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
Is America Ready for Unmanned Drones? Unmanned drones include Predators and Reapers able to carry missiles and 500-pound bombs. The new Switchblade weighs six pounds all by itself, fits into a soldier's rucksack, and can take out a rooftop sniper without destroying the building he stands on. Drones small enough to fly inside buildings will be available soon. Congress has ordered the FAA to develop new rules for the use of drones for civilian purposes inside the United States, anticipating that some 30,000 drones of all sizes will be using American airspace before 2020. In the meantime, the $6 billion drone industry has developed a voluntary Code of Conduct . What are the civilian applications? What are the risks? Can rules be developed quickly enough to keep up with a spreading technology?
Is America Ready for Unmanned Drones? The Obama Administration has made unmanned, remotely-controlled drones famous — or infamous -- for the targeted killings of enemies overseas. Predators and Reapers are able to carry missiles and 500-pound bombs. The new Switchblade weighs six pounds all by itself, fits into a rucksack, and can take out a rooftop sniper without destroying the building he stands on. In the next few years, the FAA says, tens of thousands of drones -- some small enough to fly inside buildings -- will be flying within the borders of the US. In the meantime, the $6 billion drone industry has developed a voluntary Code of Conduct . What will they be used for? Should law enforcement install weapons on board? Will surveillance violate privacy rights? What about sharing air space with airplanes big and small? We look at the benefits and the risks of a $6 billion industry that's just beginning to grow.
The Drone Wars The first year of the Obama Administration has been called "the Year of the Drone" in Pakistan. Suspected enemies were struck 51 times with missiles fired from unmanned American Predators, more in 12 months than during eight years of the Bush Administration. In Afghanistan, innocent civilians have also been killed. In Pakistan, a secret drone program could mean that CIA operatives will be charged with murder. Smaller, unarmed drones are being used for US border enforcement, and they could watch forest fires, explore hurricanes and check pipelines. Should local law enforcement get drones for surveillance? What about privacy and over-crowded skies?
Predator Drones: Fighting the Covert War in Pakistan Emblematic of modern warfare, predator drones have become the weapon of choice in America's war in Afghanistan. Initially used for reconnaissance, for years the airborne robots have been armed with Hellfire missiles. Reportedly very effective in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Obama Administration is debating a plan that would extend drone strikes into the Pakistani city of Quetta. But could urban use of this weapon end up costing innocent lives, driving a wedge between Washington and Islamabad? Will their use be expanded to the US border for surveillance purposes?
Predator Drones: Fighting the Covert War in Pakistan Emblematic of modern warfare, predator drones have become the weapon of choice in America's war in Afghanistan. Initially used for reconnaissance, for years the airborne robots have been armed with Hellfire missiles. Reportedly very effective in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Obama Administration is debating a plan that would extend drone strikes into the Pakistani city of Quetta. But could urban use of this weapon end up costing innocent lives, driving a wedge between Washington and Islamabad? Will their use be expanded to the US border for surveillance purposes?
New Details Emerge on Blackwater Shooting Defense Secretary Robert Gates has sent a fact-finding team to Iraq to look into deadly incidents involving Blackwater security guards. It's being reported in the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post that the State Department and Iraqi government already are focusing on five separate incidents, including a diplomatic convoy during which one guard reportedly drew a weapon on colleagues and screamed at them to "stop shooting," presumably at civilians. The Brookings Institution's Peter Singer is author of a new study on private contractors, "Can't Win with 'Em, Can't Go to War without 'Em: Private Military Contractors and Counterinsurgency."
Iraq Wants Blackwater Security Guards Out All US diplomats are banned from leaving the Green Zone by land as Iraq's Prime Nouri al-Maliki Minister tells the State Department to fire Blackwater USA security guards. Iraq says ten civilians were killed on Sunday when Blackwater guards fired indiscriminately into a crowd. Blackwater says they shot at "armed enemies." It's the latest in a long series of incidents that have infuriated Iraqis from the streets to the corridors of power. Why is the State Department so dependent on private guards? Has it failed to exercise appropriate oversight?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
