![]() ![]() Over the last decade, the American use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has expanded exponentially, as has media coverage of their use. There may, however, be more, since a cloak of secrecy about drone warfare leaves the full size and scope of these bases distinctly in the shadows. Using military documents, press accounts, and other open source information, an in-depth analysis by TomDispatch has identified at least 60 bases integral to US military and CIA drone operations. They are also the latest development in a long-evolving saga of American power projection abroad-in this case, remote-controlled strikes anywhere on the planet with a minimal foreign “footprint” and little accountability. Run by the military, the Central Intelligence Agency, and their proxies, these bases-some little more than desolate airstrips, others sophisticated command and control centers filled with computer screens and high-tech electronic equipment-are the backbone of a new American robotic way of war. Despite frequent news reports on the drone assassination campaign launched in support of America’s ever-widening undeclared wars and a spate of stories on drone bases in Africa and the Middle East, most of these facilities have remained unnoted, uncounted, and remarkably anonymous-until now. There’s a facility outside Las Vegas where “pilots” work in climate-controlled trailers, another at a dusty camp in Africa formerly used by the French Foreign Legion, a third at a big air base in Afghanistan where Air Force personnel sit in front of multiple computer screens, and a fourth at an air base in the United Arab Emirates that almost no one talks about.Īnd that leaves at least 56 more such facilities to mention in an expanding American empire of unmanned drone bases being set up worldwide. ![]() This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. ![]()
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