The continued privatization of the US armed forces continues, as civilian contractors play a significant role in all those CIA and military drone flights, including ones that fire missiles and kill people.
Interestingly enough, I'd never read the stats about the size of the support staff it takes to run a drone on a mission, vs. a manned aircraft. The hardware may be somewhat cheaper, but the support team is a lot bigger, and the government agencies rapidly expanding drone usage are, surprise!, having to rely more and more on contractors to do it. All of whose companies get substantial fees for the service, and thus have a vested interest in continuing if not expanding drone usage. To police operations, for example.
Now, who again was that radical who was warning about the military-industrial complex …? #ddtb
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Civilian contractors playing key roles in U.S. drone operations
After a U.S. airstrike mistakenly killed at least 15 Afghans in 2010, the Army officer investigating the accident was surprised to discover that an American civilian had played a central role: analy…