One of the most anticipated documentaries on drones directed and produced by Robert Greenwald has been released for audiences worldwide to finally see the US drone program for what it really is. The film takes viewers on a journey through the struggles of Pakistanis who have been affected by the strikes as well as a former USAF drone sensor operator’s feelings about what he has done (VIDEO).
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Brandon
Bryant, an ex-USAD drone sensor operator starts the film off by
explaining what drove him to become the person in charge of unmanned
drones, millions of miles away from him.
"I decided to get into the air force because I was racking up college debt and I didn't know what else to do," Bryant said in the documentary. His commander told him what his daily task would be—controlling armed drones flying over regions of Iraq and Afghanistan. At the time when he started though, his initial thought was "it's pretty bad ass", however by the end of the roughly hour-long showing, it was clear to see by his facial expressions that feeling of pride for his job turned into pain.
The
audience gets an inside look at how the drone program is in the US,
Bryant telling that the instructors of the program say that we kill
people and break things –and that is what the job is. During a usual
mission, he and his team flew the drones in Iraq around 8,000 to 12,000
feet in the air, while in Afghanistan they reached the height of 18,000
to 25,000 feet high in the air.
Pulling
away from the 27-year-old veteran's own personal story, the documentary
takes viewers to Pakistan back in October of 2011—where drones are
greatly despised by the majority of citizens there. During a formal
gathering where international media, tribal elders, drone victims and
the public came together in one room—they spoke of drones and how they
have been negatively affecting their lives.
"These
drones attack us and the whole world is silent," Kareem Khan, Tribal
Elder said during the gathering in the film. Political Organizer Dr.
Bashir Khan said at the drone meeting that you press a button and
annihilate entire families and tribes. An eight year old girl was talked
about during the conference in Pakistan too, where on August 23, 2010
she lost her life –a drone had struck her dead.
A
few days after the powerful meeting, a rally went on in Islamabad,
Pakistan against the use of US drones. In an intense voice, a man said
during the protest we want to send a message to America, the more drone attacks you conduct, the more people will resent you. The rally was huge, thousands attended.
Another key component to the captivating documentary was a story they followed of a young man named Tariq Aziz, a 16-year-old who showed up at the formal gathering to give his support. Within a short amount of time, Aziz was taken down by a drone, and lost his life. Only a student at the time, his family and friends at the funeral procession exclaimed that happiness had disappeared along with Tariq.
Though,
the US government holds a firm stance on why they attack people they
believe to be terrorists, while local community members in Pakistan know
the same "terrorists", like Aziz as a victim, caught in the crossfire.
One valid question, which popped up during the film, was why the US
government took it upon themselves to use a drone on the young student
and not work with Pakistani officials to gain better insight on whether
or not he actually was affiliated with a terrorist network.
"A lot of the terrorist networks that target the United States, the dangerous ones operate in very remote regions and it's very difficult to capture them," President Obama said in the film. Still, an eerie statistic which the documentary makes clear is that more people have been killed by drones than captured in the past couple of years.
As
far as the incident with Tariq is concerned, one commentator in the
video suggests that there was someone in the room of the gathering that
was an informant for the US intelligence services. It was that very
person who picked Tariq out of the crowd during the gathering.
After
data had been released, reports came out claiming that four militants
were killed from drone strikes, when in all actuality two kids—one of
them being Tariq—was struck down by the unmanned, armed machine someone
had been operating on a different continent. The data from the report
also stated that "adult males were supporting al-Qaeda's facilitation
network".
Various lawmakers in the documentary bring up
points against using drones. In fact one activist highlighted the fact
that killing the boy hasn't made the citizens or the world for that
matter any safer of a place. Instead, his family and friends have been
forced to live their lives without one of the most cherished people they
know.
On the other side of the drone, Bryant opened up
about how he felt after killing someone, especially if he didn't know
if this person was the right target. "I didn't know how to react, they
don't teach you how to react they just teach you how to do it," Bryant
admits during the dramatic film. Even when he visited the chaplain for
advice, the religious figure said what he was doing was in God's plan.
It
has been noted that more than 98 percent of people hit by drone strikes
have not been high value targets. Though, a sub-category the US uses
when attacking possible threats with drones is what they call a
signature strike. This kind of strike has been defined as civilians who
fit the signature of what the US believes to be a threat. However, US
officials are not sure of how many people or what their true identity is
when striking them down during a signature hit.
Needless
to say, the US drone program is creating more enemies than allies, as
left and right civilians fall dead, and eyewitnesses stare in complete
and utter confusion. Of what is known, at least 1400 people have lost
their lives to drone hits, however the number could be even higher.
People
all over the world have shown their concern over drone attacks, which
have killed innocent bystanders. Protests have taken place in the UK,
Australia, the US, Pakistan, and a bunch of other nations where citizens
have taken a stance against the US government's drone program.
Even
though lives are lost, the documentary points out that at the end of
the day someone is profiting from this security program. Creating drones
and sending them into the air has become a lucrative business, Boeing
received $1.8 billion dollars, Northrop Grumman got $10.9 billion,
General Atomics took in $6.6 billion, and Raytheon received $648 million
dollars' worth in drone contracts. Not only is the US using drones, 50
other countries have been reported to have them in their possession.
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