A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State by Whitehead John W

Author:Whitehead, John W. [Whitehead, John W.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781590799833
Publisher: SelectBooks Inc.
Published: 2013-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

Attack of the Drones

Although it is hard to predict where the drone infrastructure will grow, if other defense contracting projects are a reliable guide, the drone-ification of America will probably continue until there is a drone aerodrome in every state and a drone degree program to go With it."479–Richard Wheeler, Wired

Imagine a robot hovering overhead as you go about your day, driving to and from work, heading to the grocery store, or stopping by a friend's house. The robot records your every movement with a surveillance camera and streams the information to a government command center. If you make a wrong move, or even appear to be doing something suspicious, the police will respond quickly and you'll soon be under arrest. Worse, you might find yourself tasered into compliance by the robot floating on high. Even if you don't do anything suspicious, the information of your whereabouts, including what stores and offices you visit, what political rallies you attend, and what people you meet will be recorded, saved and easily accessed at a later date by the police and/or other government agents.

Coming Home to Roost

This is a frightening thought, but you don't have to imagine this scenario. Thanks to the introduction of drones into American airspace, we are only a few years away from the realization of this total surveillance and compliance society.

Drones–pilotless, remote controlled aircraft that have been used extensively in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to assassinate suspected terrorists,480 as well as innocent civilians481–have increasingly found favor with both military and law enforcement officials. "The more we have used them," stated Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "the more we have identified their potential in a broader and broader set of circumstances."482 In fact, President Obama's 2012 military budget provided strong funding for drones with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, with $4.8 billion set aside just "to develop and procure additional Global Hawk Class (RQ-4), Predator Class (MQ1/9), and other less expensive, low-altitude systems."483

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