The pilots warn that the drone program "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world." (Screenshot)
Nov 20, 2015
Four former drone operators who are speaking out against the U.S. military's ongoing targeted killing program--and risking federal prosecution for doing so--appeared on Democracy Now! Friday morning, alongside renowned human rights attorney Jesselyn Radack, for their first extended interview on air.
"We have seen the abuse firsthand, and we are horrified," former Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandon Bryant said at a press conference Thursday.
As Common Dreams reported earlier this week, the Air Force pilots-turned-whistleblowers issued an open letter to President Barack Obama warning that the drone program "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."
"We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country's leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program," the operators wrote in their letter. "We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home."
Watch their interviews below:
Exclusive: Air Force Whistleblowers Risk Prosecution to Warn Drone War Kills Civilians, Fuels Terror
"Numbing & Horrible": Former Drone Operator Brandon Bryant on His Haunting First Kill
Exclusive: 2 Air Force Vets Speak Out for First Time on Why They Want the Drone War to Stop
From Console to Trigger: How Pentagon "Exploits" Video Game Culture to Wire Youth for War
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Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Four former drone operators who are speaking out against the U.S. military's ongoing targeted killing program--and risking federal prosecution for doing so--appeared on Democracy Now! Friday morning, alongside renowned human rights attorney Jesselyn Radack, for their first extended interview on air.
"We have seen the abuse firsthand, and we are horrified," former Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandon Bryant said at a press conference Thursday.
As Common Dreams reported earlier this week, the Air Force pilots-turned-whistleblowers issued an open letter to President Barack Obama warning that the drone program "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."
"We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country's leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program," the operators wrote in their letter. "We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home."
Watch their interviews below:
Exclusive: Air Force Whistleblowers Risk Prosecution to Warn Drone War Kills Civilians, Fuels Terror
"Numbing & Horrible": Former Drone Operator Brandon Bryant on His Haunting First Kill
Exclusive: 2 Air Force Vets Speak Out for First Time on Why They Want the Drone War to Stop
From Console to Trigger: How Pentagon "Exploits" Video Game Culture to Wire Youth for War
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Four former drone operators who are speaking out against the U.S. military's ongoing targeted killing program--and risking federal prosecution for doing so--appeared on Democracy Now! Friday morning, alongside renowned human rights attorney Jesselyn Radack, for their first extended interview on air.
"We have seen the abuse firsthand, and we are horrified," former Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandon Bryant said at a press conference Thursday.
As Common Dreams reported earlier this week, the Air Force pilots-turned-whistleblowers issued an open letter to President Barack Obama warning that the drone program "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."
"We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country's leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program," the operators wrote in their letter. "We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home."
Watch their interviews below:
Exclusive: Air Force Whistleblowers Risk Prosecution to Warn Drone War Kills Civilians, Fuels Terror
"Numbing & Horrible": Former Drone Operator Brandon Bryant on His Haunting First Kill
Exclusive: 2 Air Force Vets Speak Out for First Time on Why They Want the Drone War to Stop
From Console to Trigger: How Pentagon "Exploits" Video Game Culture to Wire Youth for War
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