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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask

Which other nations have them? Did they exist during the Civil War? What do they have to do with tacos and rhinos?

By Asawin Suebsaeng

Mother Jones | Tue Mar. 5, 2013

UPDATE October 22, 2013, 10:29 a.m. EDT: Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released two separate new reports on civilian deaths in US drone strikes. Amnesty's report examines 45 strikes in North Waziristan in northwestern Pakistan between January 2012 and August 2013, and HRW's examines six examples of targeted killing in Yemen. "The drones are like the angels of death," says Nazeer Gul, a shopkeeper in the Pakistani town of Miramshah. "Only they know when and where they will strike."
If you've checked out the news these past few (or many) months, you've probably noticed some news about drones. Drones used by the CIA to vaporize suspected terrorists. Drones used by the United States military. Drones that deliver food. Drones used by cops. Drones possibly violating the US Constitution. Drones protecting wildlife. Drones in pop culture. Maybe this has left you with some burning questions about these increasingly prominent flying robots. Here's an easy-to-read, nonwonky guide to them—we'll call it Drones for Dummies.
When was the drone invented? Assuming you're talking about the scary kinds of drones that bomb America's suspected enemies, you're probably thinking of the MQ-1 Predator, developed by military contractor General Atomics. This Predator drone was first introduced in 1995 as a surveillance and intelligence gathering tool, and was then tricked-out to launch weapons like hellfire missiles.

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