"Senator: “If there’s a line of traffic coming out of a camp and we think that is populated by people who don’t like America — we bomb them"
The Pentagon is to reward drone operators with medals, despite the fact that strikes have killed thousands of innocent civilians in Yemen and Pakistan; and the majority of Americans will support the action.
AP reports that the DoD is creating a new ribbon, called the Distinguished Warfare Medal that will be awarded for “extra achievement” related to a military operation. This will encompass sitting at a computer console and pressing a button to release Hellfire missiles from Predator drones hundreds and thousands of miles away.
The AP report notes that the medal would become the fourth-highest ranking combat decoration, placing above the Bronze Star, but below the Silver Star. The medal will be the first combat-award created by the Armed Forces since World War II.
Pentagon guidelines state that “The extraordinary achievement must have resulted in an accomplishment so exceptional and outstanding as to clearly set the individual apart from comrades or from other persons in similar situations.”
Critics immediately jumped on the development, with some referring to the new medal as the “Geek Cross”, and suggesting that video game heads could soon be awarded Purple Hearts in recognition of animated wounds.
Research by the Pew Center, published Monday, found that “Overall, 56 percent [of Americans] approve of the U.S. conducting missile strikes from pilotless aircraft to target extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; just 26 percent say they disapprove.”
The majority registered approval despite a leaked Justice Department memo earlier this month concluding that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens with drones “even if,” as NBC reported, “there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.”
RELATED: Here Are All The Children Murdered By Drone Strikes At The Hands Of Obama
Prison Planet.com » Medals For Killing Women And Children: Majority Of Americans Support Drone Strikes
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