7/29/2019 20130311 Visions of Drones in U.S. Skies Touch Bipartisan Nerve - NYTimes.com

1/3

Search All NYTimes.com

POLITICSHOME

THE CAUCUSFIVETHIRTYEIGHT

ELECTION2012

INSIDECONGRESS

POLLWATCH

VIDEO

Enlarge This Image

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Senator Rand Paul at the Capitol onThursday, 12 hours after ending his

marathon filibuster on drone policy.

Multimedia

Senate Vote 32 Confirmation of

John Brennan as C.I.A. Director

Related

Visions of Drones Swarming U.S. Skies Hit BipartisanNerveBySCOTT SHANE and MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Published: March 8, 2013 510 Comments

WASHINGTON The debate goes to the heart of a deeply rooted

American suspicion about the government, the military and the

surveillance state: the specter of drones streaking through the skies

above American cities and towns, controlled by faceless bureaucrats

and equipped to spy or kill.

That Big Brother imagery conjured

up by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky

during a more than 12-hour filibuster

this week has animated a

surprisingly diverse swath of political

interests that includes mainstream

civil liberties groups, Republican and

Democratic lawmakers, conservative

research groups, liberal activists and

right-wing conspiracy theorists.

They agree on little else. But Mr. Pauls soliloquy has

tapped into a common anxiety on the left and the right

about the dangers of unchecked government. And it has

exposed fears about ultra-advanced technologies that are

fueled by the increasingly fine line between science fiction

and real life.

Drones have become the subject of urgent policy debates in

Washington as lawmakers from both parties wrangle with

President Obama over their use to prosecute the fight

against terrorism from the skies above countries likePakistan and Yemen.

But they are also a part of the popular culture toys sold

by Amazon; central plot points in Homeland and a dozen

other television shows and movies; the subject of endless

macabre humor, notably by The Onion; and even the

subject of poetry. (Ode to the MQ-9 Reaper, a serious

work by the Brooklyn poet Joe Pan that was just published

in the journal Epiphany, describes the drone as ultra-cool

& promo slick, a predatory dart that is as self-aware as

Living With Less.

A Lot Less.

Is There Life

After Work?

Log In With Faceboo

MOST E-MAILED RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Log in to discover more articlesbased on what youve read.

Whats This? | Dont S

Log in to see what your f riends

are sharing on nytimes.com.

Privacy Policy | Whats This?

Whats Popular Now

Sign up for a roundup of the day's top stories, sent evemorning.

See Sample | Privacy Policy

Today's Headlines Daily E-Mail

We dont have any personalized recommendations foryou at this time. Please try again later.

HOME PAGE TODAY'S PAPER VIDEO MOST POPULAR

PoliticsWORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AU

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

GOOGLE+

SAVE

E-MAIL

SHARE

PRINT

REPRINTS

Challenges for Brennan

Subscribe: Digital / Home Delivery Log In Register Now U.S. Edition

http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://www.nytimes.com/http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/videohttp://www.nytimes.com/mostpopularhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=MiddleRight&sn2=69390735/99ebf9ca&sn1=21d5dba0/afa71e4c&camp=iht2012-mktg-336x280-us_ros-intl-39XJX&ad=yellow_336x280_click-here-us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190024%26adxa%3D315786%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DMiddleRight%26campaignId%3D39XJXhttp://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/rand_paul/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=MiddleRight&sn2=69390735/99ebf9ca&sn1=21d5dba0/afa71e4c&camp=iht2012-mktg-336x280-us_ros-intl-39XJX&ad=yellow_336x280_click-here-us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190024%26adxa%3D315786%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DMiddleRight%26campaignId%3D39XJXhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=MiddleRight&sn2=69390735/99ebf9ca&sn1=21d5dba0/afa71e4c&camp=iht2012-mktg-336x280-us_ros-intl-39XJX&ad=yellow_336x280_click-here-us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190024%26adxa%3D315786%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DMiddleRight%26campaignId%3D39XJXhttp://www.nytimes.com/privacyhttp://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/timespeople/faq/social/http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=TopAd&sn2=f4e73681/d481d8d0&sn1=47ae1782/8da500e&camp=IHT2012-Mktg-728x90-US_ROS-Intl-Subs&ad=woman_728x90_subs_generic&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fsubs%2Eiht%2Ecom%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dnytimes%2Ecom%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dleaderboard%26utm%5Fcampaign%3DGENhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=TopAd&sn2=f4e73681/d481d8d0&sn1=47ae1782/8da500e&camp=IHT2012-Mktg-728x90-US_ROS-Intl-Subs&ad=woman_728x90_subs_generic&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fsubs%2Eiht%2Ecom%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dnytimes%2Ecom%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dleaderboard%26utm%5Fcampaign%3DGENhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=TopAd&sn2=f4e73681/d481d8d0&sn1=47ae1782/8da500e&camp=IHT2012-Mktg-728x90-US_ROS-Intl-Subs&ad=woman_728x90_subs_generic&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fsubs%2Eiht%2Ecom%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dnytimes%2Ecom%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dleaderboard%26utm%5Fcampaign%3DGENhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=TopAd&sn2=f4e73681/d481d8d0&sn1=47ae1782/8da500e&camp=IHT2012-Mktg-728x90-US_ROS-Intl-Subs&ad=woman_728x90_subs_generic&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fsubs%2Eiht%2Ecom%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dnytimes%2Ecom%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dleaderboard%26utm%5Fcampaign%3DGENhttp://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/presidenthttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/newyorktimes-poll-watch/index.htmlhttp://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/presidenthttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/newyorktimes-poll-watch/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/style/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Bar1&sn2=629f7253/3c5df4ce&sn1=d1db89d9/2d66e7d7&camp=nyt2013_bar1_ros_digi_hd_3F4YJ_3F4YK&ad=043012-bar1_3F4YJ_3F4YK&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2FMultiproduct%2Flp5558%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D210069%26adxa%3D300148%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DBar1%26campaignId%3D3F4YJhttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=MiddleRight&sn2=69390735/99ebf9ca&sn1=21d5dba0/afa71e4c&camp=iht2012-mktg-336x280-us_ros-intl-39XJX&ad=yellow_336x280_click-here-us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190024%26adxa%3D315786%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DMiddleRight%26campaignId%3D39XJXhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=MiddleRight&sn2=69390735/99ebf9ca&sn1=21d5dba0/afa71e4c&camp=iht2012-mktg-336x280-us_ros-intl-39XJX&ad=yellow_336x280_click-here-us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190024%26adxa%3D315786%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DMiddleRight%26campaignId%3D39XJXhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/is-there-life-after-work.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FBhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=TopAd&sn2=f4e73681/d481d8d0&sn1=47ae1782/8da500e&camp=IHT2012-Mktg-728x90-US_ROS-Intl-Subs&ad=woman_728x90_subs_generic&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fsubs%2Eiht%2Ecom%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dnytimes%2Ecom%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dleaderboard%26utm%5Fcampaign%3DGENhttps://myaccount.nytimes.com/gst/regi.htmlhttps://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Bar1&sn2=629f7253/3c5df4ce&sn1=eca96d9b/76ae467e&camp=nyt2013_bar1_ros_digi_hd_3F4YJ_3F4YK&ad=043012-bar1_3F4YJ_3F4YK&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fnytimesathome%2Ecom%2Fhd%2F142%3FMediaCode%3DW39AA%26CMP%3D3F4YKhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Bar1&sn2=629f7253/3c5df4ce&sn1=d1db89d9/2d66e7d7&camp=nyt2013_bar1_ros_digi_hd_3F4YJ_3F4YK&ad=043012-bar1_3F4YJ_3F4YK&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2FMultiproduct%2Flp5558%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D210069%26adxa%3D300148%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DBar1%26campaignId%3D3F4YJhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day&pos=Frame4A&sn2=72270860/53be7632&sn1=ed4a5a84/1927dc70&camp=FSL2013_ArticleTools_120x60_1849315b_nyt5&ad=Trance_NYT120x60_Feb25&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efoxsearchlight%2Ecom%2Ftrancehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0&pagewanted=printhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/automobiles/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/style/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/business/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/nyregion/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/mostpopularhttp://www.nytimes.com/videohttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=TopAd&sn2=f4e73681/d481d8d0&sn1=47ae1782/8da500e&camp=IHT2012-Mktg-728x90-US_ROS-Intl-Subs&ad=woman_728x90_subs_generic&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fsubs%2Eiht%2Ecom%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dnytimes%2Ecom%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dleaderboard%26utm%5Fcampaign%3DGENhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=MiddleRight&sn2=69390735/99ebf9ca&sn1=21d5dba0/afa71e4c&camp=iht2012-mktg-336x280-us_ros-intl-39XJX&ad=yellow_336x280_click-here-us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190024%26adxa%3D315786%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DMiddleRight%26campaignId%3D39XJXhttp://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/timespeople/faq/social/http://www.nytimes.com/privacyhttp://www.nytimes.com/privacyhttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/todaysheadlines/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/content/help/extras/recommendations/recommendations.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/regihttp://www.nytimes.com/loginhttp://www.nytimes.com/recommendationshttp://www.nytimes.com/gst/mostpopular.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/is-there-life-after-work.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FBhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/living-with-less-a-lot-less.html?pagewanted=all&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FBhttp://www.epiphanyzine.com/FW2013_pan.htmlhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/filibusters_and_debate_curbs/index.html?inline=nyt-classifierhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/rand_paul/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0#commentsContainerhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/michael_d_shear/index.htmlhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/scott_shane/index.htmlhttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/32?ref=politics&ref=politicshttp://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://pop_me_up2%28%27http//www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/03/09/us/DRONES.html','DRONES_html','width=707,height=630,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/politics/1194811622221/index.htmlhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/newyorktimes-poll-watch/index.htmlhttp://politics.nytimes.com/congress/http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/presidenthttp://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/http://www.nytimes.com/politics/http://www.nytimes.com/

7/29/2019 20130311 Visions of Drones in U.S. Skies Touch Bipartisan Nerve - NYTimes.com

2/3

A Senators Stand on Drones

Scrambles Partisan Lines (March 8,

2013)

Related in Opinion

Op-Ed Contributor: The Drone

Question Obama Hasnt Answered

(March 9, 2013)

Readers Comments

Readers shared their thoughts

on this article.

Read All Comments (510)

silverware.)

Benjamin Wittes, a national security scholar at the

Brookings Institution who has written extensively about

drones, said he thought Mr. Pauls marathon was a dumb

publicity stunt. But he said it had touched a national nerve

because the technology, with its myriad implications, had

already deeply penetrated the culture.

Over the last year or so, this thing that was the province of

a small number of technologists and national security

people has exploded into the larger public consciousness,

Mr. Wittes said.

On the right, Mr. Paul has become an overnight hero since his filibuster. Self-proclaimed

defenders of the Constitution have shouted their approval on Twitter, using the hashtag

#StandWithRand and declaring him to be a welcomed member of their less-is-better-

government club.

The day that Rand Paul ignited Libertys Torch inside the beltway! one Tea Partyactivist

wrote on Twitter. May it never be extinguished!

But even as the right swooned, the left did, too. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon the only

Democrat to join Mr. Pauls filibuster said the unexpected array of political forces wasjust the beginning, especially as Congress and the public face the new technologies of 21st-

century warfare.

I believe there is a new political movement emerging in this country thats shaking free of

party moorings, Mr. Wyden said. Americans want a better balance between protecting

our security and protecting our liberty.

P. W. Singer, whose 2009 book Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in

the 21st Century anticipated the broad impact of drones, said he believed they had shaken

up politics because they were a revolutionary technology, like the steam engine or the

computer.

The discussion doesnt fall along the usual partisan lines, he said. The dozen states that

have passed laws restricting drones do not fall into conventional red-blue divisions, nor do

the score of states competing to be the site of the Federal Aviation Administrations test

sites for drones.

The serious issues raised by the governments lethal drones seem inextricably mixed with

the ubiquitous appearance of the technology in art, commerce and satire.

Afour-minute video by the Air Force Research Laboratory on micro aerial vehicles

shows a futuristic bee-size drone flying in an open window and taking out an enemy sniper

with a miniature explosive payload. Since it was posted in 2009, it has been viewed

hundreds of thousands of times and reposted all over the Web.

WhenAmazon advertised a six-inch model of the Predator, made by Maisto, in its toy

section, people wrote politically charged mock reviews that became Internet hits: This

goes well, one reviewer wrote, with the Maisto Extraordinary Rendition playset, by the

way which gives you all the tools you need to kidnap the family pet and take him for

interrogation at a neighbors house, where the rules of the Geneva Convention may not

apply. Loads of fun!

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, was not laughing Thursday when he took to

the Senate floor to chastise Mr. Paul and defend the use of drones. In an interview with

The Huffington Post, Mr. McCain dismissed Mr. Paul and the other critics of drones as

the wacko birds on right and left that get the media megaphone.

The Circus of FashionIN T MAGAZINE: WOMEN'S SPRING ISSUE 2013

The Real Lee RadziwillGrand Simplicity

ADVERTISEMENTS

Ads by Google what's th

Canadian Private REIT

Invest $150K - Receive $1000/month.

RSP Eligible. Learn More Now.

leagueinvestment.ca

http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=Cns3r5Ig9Ue-8LrK6wQHGxIC4D-P-1qIDm9nK1jyDg8eRUhABIJzz-AFQg-K0kwRg_eiigfADoAHF3rjkA8gBAakCGoga1_tRsD6oAwGqBLQBT9ApT0qkNYqzKJ1CiATLUdZerbB441ozs730ZULsio18xvKlVn61Houq9WPL79frcrba_qphqNIgIQ-O7qLD9J29ktIWSKafMYJVtlmt9me2neFA4jVCNHCegiPEBU7ucX5zLJhTfwkFABzQkm_I2MI36OsWZLPBVrPQRTqBOHnL6SXWzMLuVSLT15ePLHxFEGtoiIqc1S78qfMtNfrZkF2v7vzqKRqhCFYV_JFfsNt5_3BMiAYBgAejoccb&num=1&cid=5GhCvYDZfd5cVsYY3saDf6St&sig=AOD64_33BA8G9vfIFr-5OczkMzoV2zjb6w&client=ca-nytimes_article_var&adurl=http://leagueinvestment.ca/bluebook%3Fmid%3Dgaw%26cid%3Dcontent-targeted-placement%26gid%3Dtexthttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=Cns3r5Ig9Ue-8LrK6wQHGxIC4D-P-1qIDm9nK1jyDg8eRUhABIJzz-AFQg-K0kwRg_eiigfADoAHF3rjkA8gBAakCGoga1_tRsD6oAwGqBLQBT9ApT0qkNYqzKJ1CiATLUdZerbB441ozs730ZULsio18xvKlVn61Houq9WPL79frcrba_qphqNIgIQ-O7qLD9J29ktIWSKafMYJVtlmt9me2neFA4jVCNHCegiPEBU7ucX5zLJhTfwkFABzQkm_I2MI36OsWZLPBVrPQRTqBOHnL6SXWzMLuVSLT15ePLHxFEGtoiIqc1S78qfMtNfrZkF2v7vzqKRqhCFYV_JFfsNt5_3BMiAYBgAejoccb&num=1&cid=5GhCvYDZfd5cVsYY3saDf6St&sig=AOD64_33BA8G9vfIFr-5OczkMzoV2zjb6w&client=ca-nytimes_article_var&adurl=http://leagueinvestment.ca/bluebook%3Fmid%3Dgaw%26cid%3Dcontent-targeted-placement%26gid%3Dtexthttp://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/faq/linkingqa16.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Middle5&sn2=143183dc/8a9da8b4&sn1=8a3fb9b9/de304cd8&camp=nyt2013_AST_336x79_anon&ad=RG-D-I-NYT-AD-FP-RGF-ROS-0113-IITT1&goto=https%3A%2F%2Fmyaccount%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fregister%3FWT%2Emc%5Fid%3DRG%2DD%2DI%2DNYT%2DAD%2DFP%2DRGF%2DROS%2D0113%2DIITT1%26WT%2Emc%5Fev%3Dclick%26WT%2Emc%5Fc%3D204331http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Box1&sn2=629f7653/371df4ce&sn1=4b6a98b7/85412d2b&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-336x280-US_ROS-Intl-Mktg_Module&ad=19Feb13_TMag_Spring_336x280&goto=http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/grand-simplicity/?ref=womens-fashion-issuehttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Box1&sn2=629f7653/371df4ce&sn1=4b6a98b7/85412d2b&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-336x280-US_ROS-Intl-Mktg_Module&ad=19Feb13_TMag_Spring_336x280&goto=http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/the-real-lee-radziwill/?ref=womens-fashion-issuehttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Box1&sn2=629f7653/371df4ce&sn1=2709c33c/39fee60&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-336x280-US_ROS-Intl-Mktg_Module&ad=19Feb13_TMag_Spring_336x280&goto=http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2013/02/15/t-magazine/womens-fashion-issue/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Box1&sn2=629f7653/371df4ce&sn1=4b6a98b7/85412d2b&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-336x280-US_ROS-Intl-Mktg_Module&ad=19Feb13_TMag_Spring_336x280&goto=http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/the-circus-of-fashion/?ref=womens-fashion-issuehttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Box1&sn2=629f7653/371df4ce&sn1=4b6a98b7/85412d2b&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-336x280-US_ROS-Intl-Mktg_Module&ad=19Feb13_TMag_Spring_336x280&goto=http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/the-circus-of-fashion/?ref=womens-fashion-issuehttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Bottom3&sn2=4e8fb0b0/7bb56416&sn1=84b7a72d/f878d6ba&camp=iht2012-mktg-86x60-us_ros-intl-39XK7&ad=grey_86x60_clickhere_us&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2Fsubscriptions%2Fiht%2FMultiproduct%2Flp0834%2Ehtml%3Fadxc%3D190022%26adxa%3D330140%26page%3Dwww.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html%26pos%3DBottom3%26campaignId%3D39XK7http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Box1&sn2=629f7653/371df4ce&sn1=9dfb3a8e/9cc74529&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-336x280-US_ROS-Intl-Mktg_Module&ad=19Feb13_TMag_Spring_336x280&goto=http://global.nytimes.com/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/john-mccain-retirement-maverick_n_2824231.htmlhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/geneva_conventions/index.html?inline=nyt-classifierhttp://www.amazon.com/Maisto-Fresh-Metal-Tailwinds-Endurance/dp/B004JFMOGKhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YkQ9w3PJ4http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/tea_party_movement/index.html?inline=nyt-classifierhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/us/politics/visions-of-drones-in-us-skies-touch-bipartisan-nerve.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0#commentshttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/opinion/the-drone-question-obama-hasnt-answered.html?ref=politicshttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/us/politics/mccain-and-graham-assail-paul-filibuster-over-drones.html?ref=politics

7/29/2019 20130311 Visions of Drones in U.S. Skies Touch Bipartisan Nerve - NYTimes.com

3/3

A version of this article appeared in print on March 9, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Visions

of Drones Swarming the Skies Touch Bipartisan Nerve.

SAVE E-MAIL SHARE

510 Comments

Readers shared their thoughts on this article.

Newest Comments Closed

But the issue is larger than Mr. Paul, whose ambitions may include a run for the

presidency in 2016. For many, Mr. Paul gave voice to the dangers they whisper about to

anyone who will listen: that the government is too powerful to be left unchecked.

Its not merely the black helicopter crowd of the folks on the far right, said Mark Potok, a

senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups. What

Rand Paul had to say about drones absolutely fired up conspiracy theorists on the left as

well as the right.

Human Rights Watch plans to join other groups next month in starting an effort called the

Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. The technology, fully autonomous weapons that are still

at the drawing-board stage, would find and fire at their programmed targets without

requiring a human being to pull the trigger.

Some national security experts find the campaign overwrought, but Mary Wareham, the

advocacy director for the arms division of Human Rights Watch, noted that the Defense

Department in November issued a policy directive on autonomous weapons that

recognized the challenges they pose.

At the same time, there are people like Everett Wilkinson, a Tea Party organizer and self-

proclaimed conspiracy theorist in Florida, who is hailing Mr. Paul as a rock star for the

Constitution. On Mr. Wilkinsons Web site, Liberty.com, he warns that the United States

government is building internment camps for political dissidents. He is wary of what

comes next.

First they said we are just going to use drones to observe stuff, and then they put Hellfire

missiles on them, Mr. Wilkinson said. How soon are we going to have drones overhead

with Tasers on them?

In Washington, Code Pink, a leftist group of antiwar activists, showed up with flowers and

chocolates at Mr. Pauls Senate offices on Thursday to thank him for standing up against

abuses of power. Known around Capitol Hill mainly for disrupting Congressional hearings,

the group had found a new champion.

People say: Oh, my God, Code Pink is praising Rand Paul. Hell has frozen over! said

Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the group. But we were glued to C-Span to the bitter

end of the filibuster. We were amazed to see the education of the public that was taking

place, and that has never occurred before.

News and commentary with a global voice.

Switch to the Global Edition

READER PICKS NYT PICKSALL

YourNameHere PA

When Henry Paulson stated that President Bush would have to instantiate

martial law by Monday if his 700 billion in TARP funds was not ponied up in

48 hours ? And that there would BE no more United States ? as the economy

would collapse ?

I think I learned the REAL threat to 'national security'.

http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Bottom1&sn2=4e8fb0ae/7bb16416&sn1=c5ed24bb/1b8b3c1&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-text_ad-US_ROS-Intl-GlobalEdition&ad=Switch_to_GE_textad&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fglobal%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2F%3Fihthttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Bottom1&sn2=4e8fb0ae/7bb16416&sn1=c5ed24bb/1b8b3c1&camp=IHT2013-Mktg-text_ad-US_ROS-Intl-GlobalEdition&ad=Switch_to_GE_textad&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fglobal%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2F%3Fihthttp://liberty.com/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300009p.pdfhttps://www.hrw.org/topic/arms/killer-robotshttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/us/politics&pos=Spon2&sn2=f4e7320f/d0a898d0&sn1=1f0c4181/664d4d99&camp=FSL2013_ArticleTools_88x31_1849315g_nyt5&ad=TheEast_88x31_Jan23&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efoxsearchlight%2Ecom%2Ftheeast