August 03, 2019
Military Eyes in American Skies
Timothy Birdnow
The Pentagon, that five sided funny farm, is planning to deploy surveillance balloons inside the United States to spy on the citizenry.
From the U.K. Guardian:
Despite being a violation of posse comitatus, one wonders at the "test" which will probably be ongoing for a long time. Why not test this overseas? We actually need it in the Middle East. Afghanistan, maybe? Why here?
Also, how many UFO reports are these things going to generate?
Here is what makes this even more puzzling:
Why does Southcom need to "rewind the tape" in the Caribbean or Central America? Wouldn't this be better employed in the Middle East or the Orient?
I have no doubt it is intended for use in the United States.
For example:
Now, this might be useful against drug dealers. it definitely would be useful against terrorists. But it would be most useful of all against American citizens the government wants to track. And, if enough are deployed, they could know their whereabouts of every automobile in the country. Is that the kind of power we want to give our government?
If the government wants information on a given person's movements, they can use drones now. This is different; a largely permanent surveillance system. It is rare when I agree with the ACLU on anything, but I do share their suspicion here:
Americans have become far too lax about their privacy and freedom from government intrusion. It's a slippery slope; once you accept the yoke around the neck you eventually accept the saddle on your back. This is a dangerous development, in my humble opinion.
The Pentagon, that five sided funny farm, is planning to deploy surveillance balloons inside the United States to spy on the citizenry.
From the U.K. Guardian:
Up to 25 unmanned solar-powered balloons are being launched from rural South Dakota and drifting 250 miles through an area spanning portions of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri, before concluding in central Illinois.
Travelling in the stratosphere at altitudes of up to 65,000ft, the balloons are intended to "provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threatsâ€, according to a filing made on behalf of the Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace and defence company.
The balloons are carrying hi-tech radars designed to simultaneously track many individual vehicles day or night, through any kind of weather. The tests, which have not previously been reported, received an FCC license to operate from mid-July until September, following similar flights licensed last year.
Travelling in the stratosphere at altitudes of up to 65,000ft, the balloons are intended to "provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threatsâ€, according to a filing made on behalf of the Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace and defence company.
The balloons are carrying hi-tech radars designed to simultaneously track many individual vehicles day or night, through any kind of weather. The tests, which have not previously been reported, received an FCC license to operate from mid-July until September, following similar flights licensed last year.
Despite being a violation of posse comitatus, one wonders at the "test" which will probably be ongoing for a long time. Why not test this overseas? We actually need it in the Middle East. Afghanistan, maybe? Why here?
Also, how many UFO reports are these things going to generate?
Here is what makes this even more puzzling:
Michel, the co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York, said, "What this new technology proposes is to watch everything at once. Sometimes it’s referred to as ‘combat TiVo’ because when an event happens somewhere in the surveilled area, you can potentially rewind the tape to see exactly what occurred, and rewind even further to see who was involved and where they came from.â€
The tests have been commissioned by the US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for disaster response, intelligence operations and security cooperation in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Southcom is a joint effort by the US army, navy, air force and other forces, and one of its key roles is identifying and intercepting drug shipments headed for the United States.
The tests have been commissioned by the US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for disaster response, intelligence operations and security cooperation in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Southcom is a joint effort by the US army, navy, air force and other forces, and one of its key roles is identifying and intercepting drug shipments headed for the United States.
Why does Southcom need to "rewind the tape" in the Caribbean or Central America? Wouldn't this be better employed in the Middle East or the Orient?
I have no doubt it is intended for use in the United States.
For example:
The FCC documents show that Southcom’s balloons are carrying small, satellite-like vehicles housing sophisticated sensors and communication gear. One of those sensors is a synthetic aperture radar intended to detect every car or boat in motion on a 25-mile swath beneath the balloon.
Now, this might be useful against drug dealers. it definitely would be useful against terrorists. But it would be most useful of all against American citizens the government wants to track. And, if enough are deployed, they could know their whereabouts of every automobile in the country. Is that the kind of power we want to give our government?
If the government wants information on a given person's movements, they can use drones now. This is different; a largely permanent surveillance system. It is rare when I agree with the ACLU on anything, but I do share their suspicion here:
"[We would like to know] what they are they doing with that data, how they are storing it, and whether they are contemplating deploying this in the US,†said the ACLU’s Stanley. "Because if they decide that it’s usable domestically, there’s going to be enormous pressure to deploy it.â€
Americans have become far too lax about their privacy and freedom from government intrusion. It's a slippery slope; once you accept the yoke around the neck you eventually accept the saddle on your back. This is a dangerous development, in my humble opinion.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
08:16 AM
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I sure don't like this any better than you do, Tim! They can twist all they want to with the "This is just a test of technology we intend to employ elsewhere" argument, if indeed they're saying that at all -- note the crossed fingers behind their backs. But stuff like this, once in place, almost always stays in place, especially if it works the way they want it to. It's really more of a matter of "we're doing it because we can." How better to test it than on the peons at home?
Like you, I believe it's illegal, but when has that ever stopped the government before? I'd think the best place to test this is on the Southern border, to see just where all the illegals are coming across. If Mexico's serious about helping shut off the flow of illegals, they ought to welcome something like this.
Like you, I believe it's illegal, but when has that ever stopped the government before? I'd think the best place to test this is on the Southern border, to see just where all the illegals are coming across. If Mexico's serious about helping shut off the flow of illegals, they ought to welcome something like this.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at August 03, 2019 12:11 PM (rIYC+)
2
Agreed to all, Dana! It's a very dangerously slippery slope.
The southern border is an excellent suggestion.
The southern border is an excellent suggestion.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at August 04, 2019 01:40 PM (0FCbZ)
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