WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Increasingly, the US government uses private corporations as contractors to carry out assignments that would formerly have been handled by individuals who had signed an oath to follow the law and refuse to follow orders in violation of the law, the activist noted.
“Because contracts are so lucrative, there is a lot on the line,” Pillsbury-Foster of the Drone Free Zone group said on Tuesday.
This change in the manner in which aspects of war are being waged has already inevitably led to increasing innocent casualties around the world, as well as far greater indifference within the United States about those killed and injured by the new weapons, she maintained.
“Since ethics, as in harm done to people, is irrelevant to corporations, who focus only on the profits to be made for their stock holders, they are perfect partners for those without conscience in government.”
Drones are built by contractors and all their components, including guidance systems, are purchased from corporations, she explained.
“Those contractors have far more latitude in their actions than do US military personnel. They are not constrained and the profits are enormous for these corporate entities.”
Hundreds of private contractors are aiding the US military and Special Operations forces to analyze drone intelligence used to target terrorist groups, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported.
According to BIJ statistics, up to 1,000 civilians have been killed by US drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen over the past ten years.
Drone Free Zone is an advocacy group that works to eliminate drones from their use as weapons for war in the United States and overseas, according to its website.
