Drone WarsStephen Lendman, Contributor Big Brother wants to watch everyone all the time. Dont bet against eyes not being weaponized one day to punish as well as spy. Thats how rogue states operate. America is by far the worst and most dangerous. Waging war on humanity is policy. Imagine living in a country run by officials who think war is good. The more the better. Permanent ones. Wage them while pretending its done for peace. Few question why America is always at war somewhere. Scant attention is paid to the trillions of dollars spent at the expense of vital domestic needs gone begging. Militarism is prioritized. Budgets are virtually open-ended. Americas duopoly assures it. Imagine policy makers deciding on which country theyll ravage next. It makes no difference whether Obama or Romney takes charge. Both major parties are in lockstep on all issues mattering most. Corporate empowerment, serving Americas 1%, cracking down on resisters, and imperial dominance top their list. Hell hath no fury like an out-of-control hegemon. If analyzed on a couch, it would be called sociopathic or worse. A Washington Post Special Report discussed Americas permanent war agenda. A previous article discussed Obamas Disposition Matrix. It called it elevating Murder, Inc. to a higher level. Anyone can be targeted anywhere in the world for any reason or none at all. Obama has final kill list authority. John Brennan is his counterterrorism maestro of murder. His playbook makes up rules as he writes them. In other words, kill because we say so. No further explanation. No mention of rule of law principles. Right, of course, is might, whether or not legal, moral and ethical. In his journey into the Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad wrote: Kill orders target anyone challenging US hegemony. Targeted killing more than ever is US policy. Washington Post writer Craig Whitlock explained more. On October 25, he headlined Remote US base at core of secret operations, saying: Frances Foreign Legion established Lemonnier. Post-9/11 it became a US Naval Expeditionary Base. Its located at Djiboutis International Airport. Its home to the Pentagons Africa Command (USAFRICOM) Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF/HOA). Extraordinary efforts are made to conceal its lawless mission. Decisions on who lives or dies are made secretly. Lemonniers commander knows. His job is execute kill orders. Virtually the entire 500-acre camp is dedicated to counterterrorism killing. Its the Pentagons first permanent drone war base. It wont be the last. Perhaps many more are planned globally. Drones, of course, operate out of many other US facilities. Regional ones include Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Seychelles-based installations. Lemonnier so far is the only Pentagon installation of its kind. Secrecy shrouds its operations. Post journalists were denied permission to visit. After one showed up unannounced, commanding General Ralph Baker agreed to an off-base interview. He wouldnt comment on drone missions or other issues mattering most. The Post, however, obtained numerous unclassified military documents. They cover construction blueprints, drone accident reports, and internal planning memos. They show how Djibouti-based drone wars escalated exponentially since early 2011. They also reveal ambitious future plans. The Pentagons Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) plays a central role. Its used for top-secret counterterrorism missions. Navy SEALs, Army Delta Force commandos, and other Special Ops forces are involved. Operations known about include counterterrorism missions, surveillance, intelligence gathering, and hostage rescues. About 300 Special Ops personnel plan, coordinate, and execute these and other missions. Others on base arent told what they do. In September 2011, a Lemonnier-based drone killed Muslim cleric/US citizen Anwar Al Awlaki. He lived in Yemen. He committed no crime. He was assassinated for opposing US belligerency. His murder and others put all anti-imperial opponents at risk. US citizenship protects no one. If outspoken enough, anyone may be next. Perhaps writers, authors, and media hosts will be targeted. Warrior states dont tolerate truth-tellers. Lemonnier is home to around 3,200 military, civilian and private contractor personnel. Most know little about highly classified counterterrorism work. The select 300 handle it. Their mandate also includes intelligence gathering. Killing, however, is prioritized. Obama, Brennan, and other high-level officials decide on disposition matrix targets. They function as judge, jury and executioner. They hold the power of life and death in their hands. Plans call for large-scale Lemonnier expansion. Operational forces will more than triple to around 1,100. Pentagon officials only say a wide variety of regional security missions are involved. (S)ecurity considerations prevent us from commenting on specific(s). Lemonnier is Americas centerpiece of an expanding constellation of half a dozen African-based US drone and surveillance facilities. Theyre also home to conventional attack aircraft. F-15E Strike Eagles fly regional combat missions. Djiboutis location is key. Its situated between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Somalia and Yemen can be reached in minutes. Djiboutis port offers easy access to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, Amanda Dory, said Lemonnier isnt an outpost in the middle of nowhere of marginal interest. This is a very important location in terms of US interest, in terms of navigation, when it comes to power projection. Three classified military operations include Copper Dune (CD), Jupiter Garret (JG) and Octave Shield (OS). CD conducts counterterrorism operations in Yemen. Africa command officials refused comment on JG and OS. Only their unclassified code names are known. Air Force safety records provide information on aircraft accidents. In February, a Special Ops U-28 spy plane crashed. Four crew members died. Since January 2011, information on five drone crashes is known. One involved a JSOC major identified only as Frog. He coordinated Predator missions. Nothing more is known. Missions are so secret even ground crews arent told about destinations or targets. All they know is that drones depart. Most return hours later. Problems beset others. They likely crashed, split apart, or burned. Lemonnier missions are controlled remotely from Creech and Cannon Air Force Bases in Nevada and New Mexico respectively. Operators use multiple keyboards and monitors. Rotating ones are on standby 24-hours a day for missions on a moments notice. Predator drones sanitize killing on the cheap. Disturbing questions are unanswered. Secrecy, unaccountability, and lawlessness matter most. So is the huge number of civilian casualties. Investigative work determined that only 2% of victims are high-level combatants. Ordinary people suffer most. Official reports lie. Hard truths reveal what policy makers want suppressed. Murder, Inc. is ugly business anywhere for any reason. More than ever its official US policy. RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE/VIDEO: Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War.Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/ 