Obama’s Budget Calls for Billions in New Spending for Drones

Tuesday 02 February 2010
by: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t | Report

This is how major US defense contractors reacted to the unveiling of President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2011 spending plan for the Pentagon, part of the president’s overall $3.8 trillion budget proposal.

Shares of General Dynamics, a maker of military aircraft, submarines and munitions, rose 3.9 percent and closed at $69.43 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the uptick due in large part to additional spending on the war in Afghanistan, according to Sanford Bernstein, a financial research firm.

Northrop Grumman Corp., which builds unmanned spy planes and ships, rose 2.3 percent to close at $57.92. Boeing Co., a manufacturer of aircraft carriers, shares increased by 1.8 and closed at $61.70. Lockheed Martin’s shares rose 37 cents to close at $74.89. Raytheon Co., a missile supplier, was up by a percentage point to close at $52.96, while shares of L-3 Communications Holdings, a firm that supplies intelligence gathering and monitoring equipment, was up 1.6 percent to close at $84.64. And shares of Harris Corp soared 4.2 percent to close at $44.74. Harris manufactures tactical radios utilizes encryption technology.

All in all, it was a good day for the military-industrial complex. More….

Qaeda Planner in Pakistan Killed by Drone

By MARK MAZZETTI and SOUAD MEKHENNET
Published: December 11, 2009

WASHINGTON — A missile fired this week by a Central Intelligence Agency drone over Pakistan’s tribal regions killed a top operations planner for Al Qaeda, American counterterrorism officials said Friday.

An American intelligence official said there were “strong indications” that a drone strike this week killed Saleh al-Somali, a member of Al Qaeda’s inner circle who was taking refuge in the mountainous tribal belt in western Pakistan. The report came amid a swirl of conflicting information about recent C.I.A. strikes in Pakistan, which have grown so frequent that several may occur in the same day. More….

CIA cancels Blackwater drone missile-loading contract

The CIA has canceled a contract with US private security firm Blackwater for its operatives to load bombs onto drone aircraft in Pakistan and Afghanistan. More….

White House Approves Expansion of CIA’s Drone Program in Pakistan

Updated December 04, 2009

FOXNews.com

The decision to expand the CIA program within Pakistan corresponds with the president’s announcement Tuesday to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

The White House has approved an expansion of the CIA’s drone program in Pakistan, Fox News has confirmed.

The U.S. has used drones to kill a dozen Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, including those linked to direct attacks on U.S. and British targets, within the last year.

Officials told Fox News on Friday that they see the program as one of the primary tools in targeting Al Qaeda — specifically the terrorist network’s leaders hiding in tribal areas of Pakistan. More….