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Arms firms implicated in illegal US drone strikes ‘bought influence’ at NATO summit – Reprieve UK

Government leaders watch a fly-past during the NATO summit at the Celtic Manor resort, near Newport

RT | September 8, 2014

Arms firms that provide core military components for drones deployed by the US to conduct covert strikes in violation of international law allegedly bought access to NATO’s summit in Wales last week, a British human rights charity says.

The defense companies concerned doled out up to £300,000 to ‘exhibit’ their military wares at the conference in Newport. Among the firms present were General Dynamics, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and MBDA, according to a British government press release.

General Dynamics manufacture Hellfire missiles utilized in most US drone strikes, while Raytheon make the targeting system for the Reaper drone deployed by the CIA and other actors to conduct strikes across the globe. Lockheed Martin operates as a contractor to provide select support services for both the Reaper and Predator, and MBDA is a European company that manufactures the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Brimstone – a variant of the Hellfire missile.

The US drone program has received widespread public criticism both at home and abroad. Critics say attacks carried out in foreign countries, including Yemen and Pakistan, are in violation of both international and US law.

Although US drone strikes have culminated in hundreds of civilian casualties, they are subject to little oversight, according to Reprieve. President Barack Obama has refused to formally acknowledge the program’s existence.

Reprieve’s Legal Director Kat Craig said it’s “deeply worrying” that a group of firms who potentially profit most from this breach of international law were able to buy access into an international global summit like NATO.

“It is unacceptable that the US’ drone campaign, and the UK’s support for it, has been allowed to remain in the shadows for so long”, he added.

“President Obama must be far more open about it – as must his European allies, especially the UK and Germany, about the support they provide.”

Craig suggested the drone manufacturers’ presence at NATO signaled their inherent capacity to buy political influence “behind closed doors,” highlighting the opaque, illicit and legally questionable nature of much of the global arms trade.

September 8, 2014 - Posted by | Corruption, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , ,

1 Comment »

  1. Well, no surprise that the arms makers and war mongers were present and well represented at the NATO summit. Perhaps we should simply have future NATO summits sponsored by the various arms makers, corporate mercenaries and financial beneficiaries of NATO’s belligerent reallocation of national sovereignty. Who will bid highest for Libya, for Yemen, for Ukraine, for Syria, for Iran and who wants the big prize –ownership of a part of butchered Russia? NATO was long an institution without a mission, but now it finds itself in the criminal business of brokering false flags, pipelines and real estate, and recycling war materials and re-selling expediently expired national sovereignty. Look at how Canada’s ballyhooed NATO murderous air victory over Libya ostensibly on behalf of R2P converted a secure and stable home for its people into a terrorist charnel house on behalf of US allied interests intent on removing Libya from involvement in the non-aligned leadership of Africa. NATO should be quashed because it has been highjacked by war mongerers and no longer represents anything more vaunted than criminal war. Make a binding diplomatic peace with Russia, de-pivot on China and allow the US dollar ponzi petro financial fiasco to be replaced by an inconveniently unexpandable currency. Time to wake-up and reverse finance driven economic expansion and commit to repairing the health of the planet.

    Michael\\

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    Michael\\'s avatar Comment by Michael\\ | September 8, 2014 | Reply


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