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Clinton approved CIA drone assassinations with her cellphone, report says

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Re: Clinton approved CIA drone assassinations with her cellphone, report says

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the issue here is she used her unsecure cellphone and presumably "private" email server to approve these strikes in which case it might have caused operational information to leak. This isn't about someone using a cellphone or a laptop, this is about someone using any communication device that wasn't clear for the transmission of classified information to approve strikes which i would only presume to be class…

It leaves the impression of a quick and weakly informed decision (especially so in the context of executing people). I personally would never respond to an important inquiry on mobile because the relatively limited screen and input interface (e.g. auto-correct) would make me anxious that I am missing some crucial piece of information.

Not really a lot of times this can be a "last moment" highly time sensitive decision based on who exactly is identified at the strike target.

Allot of people are involved in the decision making, various heads of agencies, the joint chiefs, cabinet members, the president, the vice president, members of congress, the speaker of the house etc. all can be involved depending on the strike.

You also have variables that can change for example a large than expected number of non-combatants or an unexpected high value target and when those parameters change the mission planners and operators usually have to refer up to notify people like the Secretary of State and have them make a decision to proceed, abort, change mission parameters (e.g. from survey to kill, or from kill to capture) etc.

Like it or not from all aspects these aren't decisions that can be open to lengthy debate this isn't how combat works, and having to make a time sensitive decision is something that people at those levels of government and the military have to do all the time. So sorry I don't see how the fact that a cellphone has been used is some how makes it look worse than what it already is, it's just a tool like anything else.

Re: Clinton approved CIA drone assassinations with her cellphone, report says

#122
post #62
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the U.S. is at war with ISIL, as part of a joint task force involving the Pakistan armed forces. It's not total war, so the real issue is whether or not the CIA drone assassinations killed innocent civilians. The article mentions how drone attacks have killed civilians, but it doesn't specify if those are the CIA requested attacks or if they were approved by Clinton.

By the same logic, China could declare war at certain dissident groups, say Tibet activists (which I think China assumes to be terrorists) and then drone strike their members in the US, if the US refuses to act against those. I don't think this is the standard a civilized nation should hold. EDIT: spelling

> By the same logic, China could declare war at certain dissident groups, say Tibet activists (which I think China assumes to be terrorists) and then drone strike their members in the US, if the US refuses to act against those.

China obviously could do that, though they equally obviously would be unlikely to because of the likely consequences of doing so.

Re: Clinton approved CIA drone assassinations with her cellphone, report says

#123
My bigger problem is with the Secretary of State approving drone strikes than with the "with her cell phone" part. The Secretary of State isn't the Director of the CIA, nor in any chain of command above the Director of the CIA, nor anywhere in the military chain of command.

Re: Clinton approved CIA drone assassinations with her cellphone, report says

#124
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Civilians, lot of civilians were killed! Period!

More civilians (mostly muslims) are killed by the Taliban / ISIS etc. than by the United States.

True. However senseless killing by Taliban/ISIS doesn't justify killings of civilians happening by drone attacks...
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