Hale was familiar with details of Operation Haymaker, a special operations campaign in northeastern Afghanistan. Between January 2012 and February 2013, according to an article in The Intercept, these air strikes "killed more than 200 people. Of those, only 35 were the intended targets. During one five-month period of the operation, according to the documents, nearly 90 percent of the people killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets."
Weaponized drones are typically outfitted with Hellfire missiles, designed for use against vehicles and buildings. According to "Living Under Drones," a 2012 report by Stanford Law School and the New York University School of Law:
"The most immediate consequence of drone strikes is, of course, death and injury to those targeted or near a strike. The missiles fired from drones kill or injure in several ways, including through incineration, shrapnel, and the release of powerful blast waves capable of crushing internal organs. Those who do survive drone strikes often suffer disfiguring burns and shrapnel wounds, limb amputations, as well as vision and hearing loss."
A new variation of this missile can hurl about 100 pounds of metal through the top of a vehicle or building; the missiles also deploy, just before impact, six long, whirring blades intended to slice up any person or object in the missile's path.
Any drone operator or analyst should be aghast, as Daniel Hale was, at the possibility of killing and maiming civilians through such grotesque means. His prosecution may be meant to send a message to other U.S. government and military analysts: keep quiet.
Nick Mottern, of the Ban Killer Drones campaign, accompanied artists projecting Hale's image on various walls inWashington, D.C. He engaged people who were passing by, asking if they knew of Daniel Hale's case. Not a single person he spoke with had. Nor did anyone know anything about drone warfare.
Now imprisoned at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center in Virginia, Hale awaits sentencing. His supporters are urging people to "stand with Daniel Hale." One solidarity action involves writing Judge O'Grady to express gratitude that Hale told the truth about the U.S. use of drones to kill innocent people.
At a time when drone sales and usage are proliferating worldwide and causing increasingly gruesome damage, President Joe Biden continues to launch killer drone attacks around the world, albeit with some new restrictions.
Hale's honesty, courage, and exemplary readiness to act in accord with his conscience are critically needed. Instead, the U.S. government has done its best to silence him.
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