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So they declined to engage, and this incident left zero physical evidence at all? My honest guess is it was staged, to “help” congress approve the new drone de
by guscost 6y ago
So they declined to engage, and this incident left zero physical evidence at all?
My honest guess is it was staged, to “help” congress approve the new drone defense budget (which is probably not a terrible idea).
Next!
- ttul 6y agoSeems unlikely to me. A huge number of people would have to participate in such a conspiracy, facing the prospect of ending their careers - never mind prosecution.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoLike the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
- guscost 6y agoSounds like something a couple of CIA operatives (plus support) could do easily, without leaving a trail. And then the only other thing to risk might be to relay “anything in this sector is with our boys, wink wink” to one person in command locally, who will know not to engage, and who will never ask any questions. Matter of fact, they could get away with just reading and maybe temporarily “influencing” the rules of engagement for drones, and then allowing them to be amended “in light of the incident”.
- zozin 6y agoNow it's the Navy and the CIA? When does the NSA get roped into this elaborate conspiracy? Get a grip.
- guscost 6y agoWell the CIA isn’t technically supposed to operate on US soil, but this happened at sea, loads of people think that claim is a total joke anyway, and PSYOP is one of their specialties. Or it could have been highly compartmentalized within the Navy[0]. Or it could have been foreigners or pranksters! I have some “grip” on all of those possibilities, and I don’t claim to know what happened. Anyway, the possibility it was staged is not as ridiculous as you assume, even before considering precedent. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_team https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_team
- wongarsu 6y agoThe Navy doesn't need to be in on it, all that's needed for the described conspiracy is the CIA operating some drones with sufficient range. Range isn't that hard to get if you don't need any other payload, and they can probably launch them from one of the nearby islands.
- sneak 6y agoHuge number? I bet it could be done with a dozen. The types of military organizations that would be involved in something like this don't have to worry about prosecution. The CIA, for example, runs a global network of torture prisons, and hacked congressional computers to destroy evidence when investigated about it, got caught, lied about it, and nothing happened. (The torture prisons are still operating.)
- lurquer 6y agoDozens? A single person could do it... if they had the time and money. It’s easy — for the typical HN poster — to make a drone. But, it’s tedious and expensive to make several dozen of them. A raspberry PI with a GPS module, a few bulky brushless motors, and a hefty LiPo pack and you could probably make something with an autonomous range of 100 miles. The only limiting factor is money, time, and a wife who won’t mind you wasting money and time.
- bonestamp2 6y ago> conspiracy What if it was a legit training exercise and the side effect is some drone scare that also helps get a budget approved.
- guscost 6y agoI like this take. I’d place a (small) bet on it.