Drones in Our Skies

There are recent stories about drones being deployed here in the United States.  The stories I've seen so far are vague about the purpose of the drones, aside from suggesting they might be used in law enforcement.

The brand new policy and practice of the Obama admnistration is to use unmanned Drones extensively to kill enemy terrorists in the middle east.  My initial reaction was that it sounds like a good idea.  If we can get the intelligence that helps us figure out exactly where an Al Quaeda leader is hanging out, a drone strike can kill him without risking the lives of American military personnel who would otherwise be called upon to mount a risky commando raid to accomplish the same thing.

But then I hear that the drone strikes routinely take out not only the Al Quaeda leader, but also lots of people who happen to be in his vicinity.  Including women and children.  In war, women and children get killed if they're in the way - I understand that.  But if I think for a moment about how I'd feel if a Drone strike killed my children who just happened to be in the way when it took out a terrorist target, it certainly wouldn't endear the country that's operating that drone to me.

All that aside, my biggest concern is that now it seems Drones will be based domestically.  Obama himself is said to identify all targets himself.  So naturally the next question I have is, who will Obama target for death by Drone here in America?  I'm having trouble finding a good rationale for using drones domestically, for any purpose.

Adding to my unease is all the talk I hear from folks like Janet Napolitano about "Domestic Terrorists".  As far as I can tell, a domestic terrorist is some sort of right-wing anti-government activist who is willing to attack American government facilities and personnel.  Beyond Timothy McVeigh, who is she talking about?  Maybe abortion clinic bombers?  It's frightening to think that the current Leftist administration seems to view Conservatives as dangerous enemies to their brand of governance.

Sure, we may be their political enemies, but we're not a physical threat to them.  We're hoping to get a chance to remove them from power, not with bombs and bullets, but at the ballot box.  Now, if they succeed in their efforts to overturn the second amendment, I can't guarantee there won't be some folks who will resist strongly - maybe even violently.  But today's Liberal imagination about Conservative violence is no more than fantasy.

Here's the scenario I think we may see play out very soon.  The news headlines report a disastrous explosion and fire at, say, Rush Limbaugh's home in Florida.  It takes place at 3AM while Rush and his wife are sleeping.  Neither of them survives.  The official government explanation is that it was an accidental explosion caused by a gas leak.

Over the weeks that follow, an increasing number of people become skeptical about the government story.  Local law enforcement and first responders were blocked from the scene by Feds, according to several reports.  An eyewitness who happened to be on the beach nearby at the time of the explosion swears he saw a missile penetrate the Limbaugh home at 3AM, which ignited a fireball. 

Would this President be so bold as to assassinate his political opponents, especially if he sees his power seriously challenged?  Would Obama use drones against his political enemies if he believed he could get away with it?

I hope and pray he would not.  Certainly if the same Drone program had been implemented by George W. Bush, there would be crowds of outraged liberals on the streets in protest.  I remember when the far left folks, like actors and college professors, were telling everybody who would listen how absolutely certain they were that the Bush administration had them under surveillance.  Those same people have no issue with Obama's surveillance programs supplemented now by the Drone program. 

I think it's because they trust Obama.  They trust Obama not to spy on them, because of course they are his ardent supporters.  They don't care whether Obama is spying on Conservatives, because they seem to consider conservatives evil people who deserve to be watched closely.  I wonder if they're blind support for Obama would be shaken if they were actually faced with strong evidence he was taking out his opposition with Drone strikes on Conservative activists?  My guess is no.

There's plenty of precedent in the history of the world.  Authoritarian dictators have often repeated the pattern of arresting and "disappearing" their political opponents with mass murders they try to cover up by lying to the general public.

I'm also expecting Obama to instruct his FCC to close down Fox News and various talk radio shows, using a cover story that claims these outlets promote violence or domestic terrorism.  What I can't predict with any certainty is whether those actions will precede the assassinations, follow them, or run concurrently with them.

A Liberal would tell me to lighten up, none of this stuff will actually ever happen.  To the Liberal I would say, "I hope and pray these things do not happen".  But the actions and rhetoric I've seen from this President for 4 years suggests strongly that there is major cause for concern.