Former Intel Chief: End The Drone War

Dennis Blair on the drone war, one of the Bush policies which Obama supersized (via nc links):

The reconsideration of our relationship with these countries is only the start of the overhaul Blair has in mind, however. He noted that the U.S. intelligence and homeland security communities are spending about $80 billion a year, outside of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yet al-Qaida and its affiliates only have about 4,000 members worldwide. That’s $20 million per terrorist per year, Blair pointed out.

“You think — woah, $20 million. Is that proportionate?” he asked. “So I think we need to relook at the strategy to get the money in the right places.”

Blair mentioned that 17 Americans have been killed on U.S. soil by terrorists since 9/11 — 14 of them in the Ft. Hood massacre. Meanwhile, auto accidents, murders and rapes combine have killed an estimated 1.5 million people in the past decade. “What is it that justifies this amount of money on this narrow problem?” he asked.

Seriously, we waste hundreds of billions of dollars, allowed torture of detainees, allow ourselves to be physically searched at airports and have our phone calls and emails monitored, and for what?  Who the hell is afraid of dying in a terrorist attack.  I am sure not worried.  This September 11 will mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, and it is high time for this country to stop wasting resources and sacrificing civil liberties because we are cowards.