Antinuclear

What is the role of top secret facility Pine Gap?

Pine Gap ‘Spy base’ Alice Springs: What you never knew about top-secret facility, NT News ,Debra Killalea, news.com.au, September 25, 2016 “………According to Richard Tanter, a professor in the School of Political and Social Studies at the University of Melbourne, most Australians really don’t know all that much about it.

Prof Tanter, who has conducted years of research into the facility with ANU colleague and leading authority on Pine Gap, Desmond Ball, said it remains one of the most important intelligence facilities outside of the United States today…….

OUR GOVERNMENT LOVES IT

While groups such as the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network argue Pine Gap and its value to the US makes us a target, the Australian Government maintains its presence here is crucial……..

KILLER DRONES AND SPY CLAIMS

Groups such as IPAN, which is holding its annual conference next weekend, claim the facility has a darker side.

The group said not only does Pine Gap allow access to satellites to spy on every continent except Antarctica and the Americas, but also question the role it plays in the use of drone technology.

Pine Gap contributes to and collects data used for US drones in the Middle East and Pakistan……

University of Melbourne drone researcher Alex Edney-Browne said Australians had no idea about the alarming rates of civilian casualties from drone strikes or the psychological effects caused by living under drone surveillance.

“Government and military spokespeople in the US and allied countries tell the public that drones are an ethical weapon — that drones stop civilians from being killed and limit the destructive effects of war,” she said.

“This is simply not the case.”

Ms Edney-Brown said laser guided drone weapons only hit their target radius half the time while the kill radius of drone strikes can be up to 90 metres. http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/pine-gap-spy-base-alice-springs-what-you-never-knew-about-topsecret-facility/news-story/b684b7e9ea355860379e50498f236486

September 26, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News