“Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?” Chico Marx uttered those famous words in the Marx Brothers comedy movie Duck Soup in 1933. Of course, he said it in jest, and at the time, I’m sure it was very funny. However, now when essentially those same words come out of the mouths of John Kirby, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, and other Administration stooges regarding the plethora of drones that we can all clearly see in the skies they are not so funny. They are actually insulting. Does the Administration really think we are so gullible and stupid? Perhaps, they do.
On one level, I actually feel a little sorry for Kirby and the other spokespersons the Administration trots out to converse with the media with respect to this issue (or any other issue, for that matter). He has to stand up there and deflect, obfuscate and lie. He has to defend a situation that anyone with a pair of eyes can ascertain is false. It is an unenviable position to be in. But my compassion and empathy for these spokespersons have their limits, and at this point they have been exceeded.
This story has been very fluid. By the time you read this we may finally have unraveled the drone mystery. But as I write this, the status, based on multiple media sources, including CNN, Fox News, the NY Post, Forbes and many others, is as follows:
- There have been in excess of 3,000 sightings to date, mostly in NY and NJ.
- Alejandro Mayorkas, the Head of Homeland Security, has been doing what he does best – deny and lie just as he did with respect to the border. First, he was dismissive, blaming “relaxed rules” regarding drones. Then, he admitted that although some people may have seen drones many of the sightings were likely “manned aircraft” or “duplicate sightings.” His latest gems include “the drones don’t appear to be linked to [any] foreign governments;” certain agencies within the DHS have the power to ‘incapacitate’ drones;” and “officials have deployed extra resources to look into the sightings and will let the public know if there is cause for concern.”
- The Pentagon has assured us the drones present “no known threat.” I don’t know about you, but I feel so much better already.
- The FBI and DHS have issued a joint statement that they are investigating, and at the present time they have advised that there is no evidence of “malicious” intent or a “national security or public safety threat.” That is hardly reassuring especially since those same agencies have been lying consistently for years and have been “investigating” the assassination attempts on Trump for months without providing a resolution.
- Some of the sightings have been proximate to sensitive areas such as military installations, utility plants, bridges and tunnels, and President-elect Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, NJ.
- At the very least, the drones have become a nuisance interfering with air travel. For instance, a few days ago, Poughkeepsie’s Stewart Airfield had to be closed for a few hours. Don’t be surprised if there is a collision between a drone and an aircraft at some point.
- NYS Governor Hochul has passed the buck to Congress suggesting that it should enact legislation giving the state the “power to deal directly with the drones.”
- Various members of Congress and state and local officials have expressed concern and called upon the feds to act.
- Many people are losing patience and have suggested that we just shoot them all down, or at least a few of them so that we can ascertain more information about what they are, where they came from, who launched them, and their capabilities. President-elect Donald Trump is among those who have advocated such action. For the record, I concur.
- This is one case where the unknown is worse than the known. Many people believe that the government possesses knowledge regarding these drones, but for some reason it is loath to tell us. The trustworthiness of the government is already at a low ebb. At this point, people are imagining the worst, for example, a foreign power gathering data (like the Chinese spy balloon), an Iranian “mother ship” off the Eastcoast, the prelude to an attack of some sort, or even space aliens. Yes, some of these theories seem preposterous, but they are filling the void created by the absence of facts.
- There are nearly one million recreational and commercial drones registered with the FAA. Drones are legal in many states, including NJ where a goodly portion of them have been sighted, but there are regulations operators must follow. For example, pilots are required to be certified, and recreational drones are required to remain within the view of the operator. Normally, the battery life of commercially available drones is about one hour. It has been suggested that many of those that people have observed have been in the air longer. Also, there have been reports that some of them are the size of a large automobile, which sounds unlikely. Unfortunately, due to the surge in their numbers there is an enhanced possibility for unsafe or malicious activity.
CONCLUSION
This is yet another instance where the federal government has failed to respond to a crisis situation in a timely and forthright manner. In the last few years whenever such a situation has arisen the responsible agency has either not responded or responded in an inadequate manner, e. g. the border crisis, East Palestine, various natural disasters, protecting Trump, and now this. The likelihood is that the government knows the full story, but it has chosen not to tell us. Its favorite reason for withholding information is always “need to know.” Well, in this case we, the people, need to know. I say, just be honest and tell the truth.
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 