Public Intelligence
A spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has provided statements to publications in New Hampshire and Oregon indicating that information regarding domestic drone activities provided by Public Intelligence is inaccurate, despite confirmations from the offices of two U.S. Senators. Following our publication last week of a map of current and proposed Department of Defense drone activities within the U.S., several journalists with local publications around the country wrote articles regarding drone activities that were listed in their area. David Brooks of the Nashua Telegraph wrote about the listing of New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington as the site of a USSOCOM drone activity involving small unmanned aerial vehicles including the Raven and Wasp. Corey Pein of the Willamette Week wrote about a planned USSOCOM drone activity in Portland that was listed as utilizing the same types of drones.
When each of these reporters contacted USSOCOM for information on the drone activities in their area, a spokesman stated that the information provided in our map, which was constructed from several public U.S. Air Force presentations from 2010 and 2011, was incorrect. The spokesman, deputy public affairs officer Ken McGraw, went so far as to tell the Willamette Week that “U.S. Special Operations Command does not have nor will it have [a drone] base in Portland.†McGraw provided the Nashua Telegraph with a nearly identical statement that USSOCOM “does not have a [drone] base in Mt. Washington†and added that “US Special Operations Command does not issue the Raven or Wasp. Those two UAVs are Army pieces of equipment.â€Â
Both of the statements provided by USSOCOM have now been found to be demonstrably false following further investigation of public documents and confirmations of drone activities from the offices of two U.S. Senators. In New Hampshire, a local newspaper has now confirmed with the office of Senator Kelly Ayotte that in 2010, Navy Special Operations Forces utilized areas around Mt. Washington to conduct training operations using Wasp and Raven drones. David Brooks of the Nashua Telegraph was further able to confirm via Army Lt. Col. James Gregory that similar exercises were also conducted in 2009 using the same types of drones.
In Oregon, the Willamette Week was able to confirm with the office of Sen. Ron Wyden that drones are currently stored in Portland for several military units in the area. Though the location is not primarily used as a launch site, the spokesman for Sen. Wyden’s office stated that “in the event of a natural disaster or other legitimate need†drones could be flown out of Portland. An April 2012 report to Congress on the DoD’s use of drones lists 110 sites around the country that are described as “potential UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] basing locations†along with the proposed drones that will be flown at each of the locations. The list includes several sites in Oregon, including Portland which is specifically listed as being under the control of USSOCOM and utilizing Wasp, Raven and Puma AE drones.
While some of the confusion surrounding the military’s domestic use of drones is likely due to terminological issues, such as what constitutes a drone base as opposed to an activity, these issues should not prevent the military from providing accurate information when queried by members of the press. In each of the statements provided by USSOCOM, their involvement in domestic drone activities is denied or misrepresented, preventing any meaningful exchange from taking place. If the military wishes to counter controversy from the increasing integration of drones into domestic airspace, then it may help to not make statements to press that are inaccurate or disproved by publicly available congressional reports.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the rape of children in Iraqi prisons in order to humiliate their parents into providing information about the anti-American insurgency and racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child and legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl and chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition Lou Beres confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl and pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bushintroduced during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile and executive Randall Casseday of the conservative Washington Times newspaper was arrested for soliciting sex from a 13-year old girl on the internet and benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was found guilty of raping a 15-year old girl. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women and campaign chairman Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child and was arrested again five years later on the same charge and Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page and petition drive manager Tom Randall pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 14, one of them the daughter of an associate in the petition business and Party leader Bobby Stumbo was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy and Judge Ronald C. Kline was placed under house arrest for child molestation and possession of child pornography and advertising consultant Carey Lee Cramer was sentenced to six years in prison for molesting two 8-year old girls, one of whom appeared in an anti-Gore television commercial and zoning supervisor, Boy Scout leader and Lutheran church presidentDennis L. Rader pleaded guilty to performing a sexual act on an 11-year old girl he murdered and activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children and judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation and County Constable Larry Dale Floyd was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with an 8-year old girl. Floyd has repeatedly won elections for Denton County, Texas, constable and County Chairman Armando Tebano was arrested for sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl and teacher and former city councilman John Collins pleaded guilty to sexually molesting 13 and 14 year old girls and campaign worker Mark Seidensticker is a convicted child molester and Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8 and 10 year old girls and Mayor Tom Adams was arrested for distributing child pornography over the internet and Mayor John Gosek was arrested on charges of soliciting sex from two 15-year old girls and County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison and legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17 and Committeeman John R. Curtain was charged with molesting a teenage boy and unlawful sexual contact with a minor and anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida and anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor and campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three yearsprobation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl and activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s and lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s and Congressman Donald “Buz†Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail and fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos and activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter and congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar and Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped and activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. “Officer of the Order and Martyâ€), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD and legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography and Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media and preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him and talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl and anti-gay activist Earl “Butch†Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her and Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison and election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probationfor soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl and politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy and legislator Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children) and anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was found guilty of molesting a 15-year old girl and County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child and activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl and candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters and Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted ofmolesting a 13 year old girl and County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy and City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison and activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000 and parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession and strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet and businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter and campaign worker, police officer and self-proclaimed reverend Steve Aiken was convicted of having sex with two underage girls and director of the “Young Officer of the Order and Federation†Nicholas Elizondomolested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison and president of the New York City Housing Development Corp. Russell Harding pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer