|
Air Force
Terrorists May Target U.S. Drone Bases, Says Air Force Official
8
2,009
By Stew Magnuson
Taliban and al-Qaida militants targeted by U.S. unmanned aircraft may attempt to retaliate against U.S. bases in Nevada and Arizona where the pilots remotely control the drones, said an Air Force official.
Col. Jeff Eggers, Air Force director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance innovations, said those being targeted by unmanned aircraft have already struck back at the bases in the theaters of operation where the drones land and takeoff. This usually comes in the form of mortar attacks.
But officials also fear that militants may seek revenge on U.S. forces by making direct attacks on bases that are located in the United States, where the operators fly the unmanned aerial vehicles and launch the missiles that kill militants.
“We are taking very seriously in the United States the notion of insurgency teams coming surreptitiously in the states and trying to attack our bases for just that reason,” he said at an Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International panel discussion on ethics and the use of robotics.
“We have defensive postures just for that reason,” he added. The Air Force remotely flies UAVs such as the Predator B from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Ariz.
Eggers spoke after an unpiloted drone operating in an ungoverned tribal area in Pakistan reportedly killed a top Taliban leader. On Aug. 5, a missile fired from a UAV killed Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in the ungoverned South Waziristan tribal area in Pakistan, according to press reports. Taliban leaders claim he remains alive. Another 10 Taliban fighters in the same region were allegedly killed the same day Eggers spoke.
UAV use in such areas remains controversial because of allegations that civilians are sometimes killed along with the intended targets. The comments came during a debate on whether it was considered “chivalrous” in warfare to use standoff weapons such as UAVs to kill enemies. It’s wrong to assume those who operate unpiloted drones are safe from retaliation, Eggers argued.
“The crews are not necessarily safe right now. We are flying them in theater, [and] launching them from bases in theater that are getting rocket attacks, mortar attacks. And people on the bases are being hit,” he said.
|