the u.s. weapon of choice and warfare these days is drones but a new wave of drones capable of taking off and landing on aircraft carriers put me in a major expansion of the secret drone program we'll explore. and it was thought that john brennan the man picked by president obama to head the cia would be an easy confirmation but one senator is vowing to block brennan from that post what rand paul is demanding coming up. and you see now the pentagon just ended a deal for a smartphone that can determine your fingerprints and face the scanning details ahead. it's thursday february fourteenth five pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching r.t.

will begin zeroing in on a massive piece of equipment that could transform the way the military conducts its missions drones have made their way into the mainstream conversation as senators demand more transparency and thus far secret drone campaign as of now we have a drone bases in places like pakistan in djibouti africa as a covert drone warfare becomes a critical foreign policy strategy we can expect even more of these bases to pop up but what if we didn't need to set up a base in these volatile countries well that could be the case of drone aircraft carriers were put to use while you are looking at right now the navy's x. forty seven b. drone aircraft which is in the testing phase the first take off that sees set to happen sometime this year so how can this change the u.s. military strategy discussed i was joined earlier by michael brooks producer of the majority reporter and he says this could significantly change the game as we know it. it would really reduce the need for bases for drone

bases in the volatile areas that you mentioned and the co-author of this article you like clifton and i which we co-wrote for alter net really interested in what the implications of reducing that sort of added barrier to drone deployments could look like in the really big and most immediate take away is having to deal even less with the desires and the objectives of foreign governments when we project these weapons overseas so that is a really. very very large potential step which happens right off the bat so ultimately are you saying that this would mean that the u.s. wouldn't need to be as concerned about winning over the hearts and minds of those that we deal with oversee its. well i mean you know we should always be concerned fundamentally with winning hearts and minds because obviously we're not going to be able to solve this problem in the long term without getting rid of the root causes

of things that create the conditions for terrorism poverty injustice inequality lack of opportunity you know tough on terrorism sure but also tough on the causes of terrorism but you know unfortunately this program already is far from winning hearts and minds you know seventy four percent of pakistanis cording to a recent pew poll identify the united states as an enemy fifty percent only fifty percent of pakistanis want humanitarian aid in areas that are affected by militant fighters and terrorist groups and groups like the taliban that's down from seventy two percent in two thousand and nine so already even with the drone deployments as they are it's having a very verse impacts on public opinion in affected areas like pakistan now if these aircraft carriers are for

a draw and are put to use what would what happens if they use existing drone bases do you think that one day they're going to be obsolete. you know it's definitely hard to predict you know this technology still in development i think it's likely that there still will be you know probably some drone bases in operation but by that same token if you can reduce the need for these drone bases like as an example ones in afghanistan that we operate in pakistan out of kind of the you know opposite end of that war where we go into pakistan from afghanistan actually with with these drones you know we might there might and i think there will be a real reduction of these bases and that will give us more room to operate with even you know greater flexibility than we even already have now in this program which is a lot when can we expect these carriers to be put to full use so they'll be more testing this year and the reports and i and my co-author and i have heard are two

thousand and nineteen. is the date for deployment but you know obviously this is an emerging technology and will see how it goes and you're saying and it seems technology as always advancing that's not an no exception in the military let me take a look at this lethal if we can pull this this graphic up there it is it's a lethal miniature aerial munitions system called the switchblade looks a lot like a drone the u.s. army is looking at requests from commanders in afghanistan for more of these switch blades so michael could this be could it be that drone technology i mean it's getting a lot bigger and a lot smaller at the same time. well you know it's sometimes it seems like there's like a whole sort of in the military and in the defense community to make sure as many you know action scenes in like iron man or something come to fruition and become

true in real life but you know i actually think the switchblade is is more of a toxic weapon it's deployed on a much smaller level it is similar technology as far as i understand but i don't think it has the same type of real fundamental strategic affects that the drone program has interesting always coming up coming out with new things technology always advancing and appreciate you shining some light on what could be the tools of the future that was michael brooks producer of the majority report thank you well speaking of drones operating one can win you a prestigious medal of honor you are looking at there the distinguished warfare nat'l the first of its kind it's awarded to troops that operate the remote controlled killing machines far far away from any combat zone it can also be awarded to those that launch cyber attacks that disable the enemy as well outgoing

defense secretary leon panetta may be announcement yesterday and pleased to announce when i formally approved the establishment we knew distinguish were for middle middle provides distinct new portman wide recognition for the extraordinary achievements to directly impact on combat operations that the but do not involve physical risks that combat entails. well there's no award outranks the bronze star given to those that perform courageous acts on the battlefield but the question some are asking now is such a model deserve for troops that don't actually put their life in danger if anything this proves that as the face of war evolves so does the definition of a successful soldier. also had a r t one u.s. senator says the nominee to head the cia is a no go why rand paul is holding up john brennan's confirmation when we come back.

from. a low potentially deadly blizzard taking aim for the northeast it's expected to hit stunning in a few hours from new york to made we have team coverage of the storm. but we were watching news the very heavy snow moving into boston properly or today it was very sticky you can see it start to become much more cattery down the line there's still a lot of snow out here a good place for snow ball play. dates and it is been a pretty incredible day there and record snowfall throughout much of it might. be bloody listen submerging see here lyrics options.

let me let me i want to wouldn't let me ask you a point. here on this network is what we have in the bank we have our nights out. maybe this right up the bank thing never get here in the story will be i don't want me to talk about theory let me. cut. say.

it we just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old i didn't tell the truth. i'm a confession i'm a total get a friend that i love rap and hip hop music and. he was kind of a yesterday. i'm very proud of the wall that out you see his place. here's mitt romney trying to figure out the name of that thing that the americans call. the guy here's what.

you know what. i want to feature. the crew. is really. going to look at you distracts us from what you and i should care about because they're a profit driven industry that sells a sensationalistic garbage he calls it breaking news i'm happy martin and we're going to break this that. president obama's pick for head of the cia is facing major scrutiny in the senate senator rand paul is threatening to hold off confirming john brennan's nomination until he forks over information about the drone campaign. john brennan's nomination

because he was asked a very specific question by senator wyden can you kill an american with a drone in america and he refused to answer the question he's been asked this in writing and they haven't answered this question and can you imagine if they're not willing to answer this question if they actually believe they have the power through a politician through a political office to kill an american in the united states without a trial the libertarian leaning senator also wrote a letter to brennan in which he asked dozens of questions about the drone campaign and then tell those questions are answered paul says help block brennan's confirmation but will the tactic work to discuss i'm joined by tom here now writer at large for esquire welcome tom so rand paul he wants answers he's demanding that he's going to get some. i don't think so i mean you know the john brennan has been skillfully deflecting those questions for quite a while now the obama administration just recently. in answer to

the a.c.l.u. request for information has said or the cia has once again said. it can't even say whether the drone program exists even though it had last week a full senate hearing on that you know that touched upon the drone program so i'd be i'd be very surprised if rand paul got the answers that he was looking for well he is demanding the answers and he's saying that if he doesn't get that he is not going to let this nomination or confirmation of this nomination go forward do you think that maybe this is an effective way to shine a light on this nuclear program is that i really welcome anyway or like to be shot of this on this program i was i was disappointed in last week's senate hearing there was this there was a sort of expectation that was you know rounds before this thing started that this was the time when john brennan it was going to have to answer questions he was

asked very few questions and he answered even fewer than. you know ron paul he is not alone a lot of other senators they had wrote this letter to the obama administration demanding answers most recently rand paul wrote a letter directly to brennan and he lays out about thirty questions i want to read one of them here he said it quote do you agree with the argument put forth on numerous occasions by the executive branch that it is legal to order the killings of american citizens and that it is not compelled to explain its reasoning and reaching this conclusion and do you believe this is a good precedent for the government to set so i want to ask you tama a lot of questions what do you think is the most urgent that the public deserves a right to know. yeah urgent is the most urgent question yeah exactly when it comes to drones are so many questions it's

a very secretive campaign what do you think the public off the bat should know has a right to know well i mean you know i mean less summer you know i wrote a ten thousand word story on the this issue for esquire and got into some of these questions and there's but there really is i mean is there so many of them that we can just i mean start with the question of whether when the united states government kills americans. what last year the. government not only killed on moral locky the reputed ok leader. it also killed two weeks later it killed his son a lackey it has to some degree justified itself when it comes to and we're all a lackey it has never said anything about the killing. and about the gun he was

sixteen years old he was not connected with terrorism he was in yemen apparently on a search for his father when he was killed he was an american citizen and yet the. white house has basically said nothing about him i know that there's been some some talk about that it was a mistake that it was collateral damage but there has been no information whatsoever on the nature of been ition. fatal to an american citizen so i think that you know that there's a there's so many questions to be asked and answered about the drone program but it seems that that would be really the most basic starting point is that when you have the government here. killing americans and saying that it saying that it has the power to kill americans. is it also able to do that in secret and obviously in my opinion the answer should be no a lot of questions do you think that brennan and does he have an obligation to make these questions public and the answers to these questions. yes i do believe so it

seems that that is the the starting point for. a larger question but but but to me the larger question is still is still the most pressing one you know the question of weather. the white house or the executive branch can kill american citizens that is on everybody's mind. but the the white house has killed three americans as part of its drone program it has killed two thousand nine hundred ninety seven others it's killed approximately three thousand people all over the world. with the drone program nobody is really asking about those people and what are the what kind of decisions are being made there so i look at i look at the question of whether. the active branches the americans accused of terrorism as a starting point for

a much larger debate. in addition to. the drones have also been used to kill militants and terrorists so what the administration has touted the use of drones as being very successful and being able to conduct their their foreign policy goals. and because of this there's a lot when it comes to the public polling there's a lot of support for these your own than for drone warfare so do you think tom that because there is this public support that this is kind of not putting as much pressure on brennan on the obama administration to come forward with these answers well yeah i think it's very it was after the. the hearing was over last week it was very clear to me that this is the choice that we are making as a country to go forward with this particular kind of war and to escalate this particular kind of war indeed the hearing ended with dianne feinstein senator

dianne feinstein who was the. the ranking person on the on the intelligence committee really just sort of. extolling the government's choice in targets with him targeting your wall aki she even went so far as to sort of say that. when people you know when the when the drone program arouses controversy or inspires controversy that people think that that it's just you know killing any random citizen but that this particular citizen was not a citizen which americans can be proud of that was that was that her you know the use of language and it seemed there was a it was kind of a chilling. moment because she seemed to be saying that if we don't like somebody we have the right to kill somebody. but i don't think that's exactly what she meant

but it sure sounded like the fall certainly a lot of questions i guess we're going to have to wait and see if we're going to get any answers appreciate you coming on the show tom that was tom juneau writer at large for ask wire. it's always human now on a new technology that the pentagon is banking on it's a smartphone tool that would be able to scan your face as reported in wired the defense department has awarded a three million dollar research contract to a california based company called a optics and what it does is transform a smartphone into a gadget that can literally read someone's face and it does this by scanning and transmitting data that recognizes unique features like eye of space thumbs and voice how can the military use this you may wonder well the idea is a soldier can scan a suspicious person nearby or at a distance and identify if he or she is

a threat so as civilians conduct more of their day to day life they have lives on their smartphones it seems members of the military are no exception. well if you watch the. you've heard a lot of the warren whistle blowers but here's a new twist in indiana farms in agricultural businesses want to outlaw videotaping on their property this week a state senate committee sided with the farmers to make it illegal to take video or snap photos that can embarrass or harm the farm according to the star this after some farmers say releasing images like the ones on your screen now have been disastrous for business it's usually a result of journalists or whistleblowers that make public the mistreatment of animals or inhumane working conditions conditions exposed in documentaries like food inc there is in there for you to. destroy the operation. referring to the north to allow the sale of

down to move without any label. without visual proof it would be difficult or impossible to know what really goes on behind closed doors supporters of the bill like the indiana farm bureau and the indiana manufacturers association say people should take their videos to the police and not to the internet. well last week we brought you the story of a german cello soloist alben guard whose cello bow was damaged at washington duals airport allegedly by inspectors working for the transportation security administration or t.s.a. as we know them gerhard opened his cello case in chicago at o'hare airport only to find that his bow valued at twenty thousand dollars had snapped gerhard caught up with our sister company rep late take a listen. emotionally it's what really live for us musicians and

boys go for like a little color and those are very nice procedures. to have that broken over because they don't do them any more than two or three hundred uses odes is almost impossible to replace. all the t.s.a. has recommended that gerhard file a claim with the agency's claims management branch but even if he is reimbursed he will have a very difficult time finding a substitute bow of the same caliber. coming up in thirty minutes here on our t.v. or is breaking the set with host abby martin let's check in with abby to see what is on today's agenda it's like we're going to be checking in with abby a little bit later so what's next what's next guy that is going to do for now all right i'm just waiting for you guys to tell me what is going to what is coming next. all right abby martin host of breaking the sad always trying to smash the paradigm as she says covering stories that you don't

always see on the mainstream news she is going to be coming up to tell us all about what she has in store today. that is coming up and a half hour we here at our t.v. just so you know we're at four five and eight posts all of our you tube we oppose everything on youtube youtube dot com slash r t america also check out our website artsy dot com slash usa stay tuned for abbie's breaking the sad and a half hour and half hour will be right back here at eight pm see that and sorry about the technical difficulties below potentially deadly blizzard taking aim for the northeast it's expected to hit stunning in a few hours from new york to made we have team coverage of the storm. we're watching is the very heavy snow moving into boston properly or today it was very sticky you can see it start to become much more time to read. and there's still a lot of snow out here at least for snow banks like. d.c.

it is going to be pretty incredible day there and the record snowfall throughout what's been like bilbies like to drive your listeners submergence see here exceptions. say.

let me let me i want to know what all let me ask you a point. here on this network is what we have in the bank we have our knives out if. this was a bad thing never again hearing the phrase we're being i don't want me to talk about your name and me. just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old like did she tell the truth. i'm a contestant i'm a total get of friends that i love traveling hip hop music and tricks. he was kind of a yesterday. i'm very proud of the role without you

it's place. here is mitt romney trying to figure out a thing that we americans call. adult. i'm sorry i'm just a guy who cares an awful lot about you sir are fools. and their terrorist cells in your neighborhood all want to give us a feature is a liberal chris puplick you. can secure the vote of people. who support you to distract us from what you and i should care about because they're profit driven industry that's the most. you call that breaking news. and

we're going to break this. right i mean it's like a derivative of. it's a food product essentially. this is much stronger than anything you do you buy a lot. stronger than any one of the.

like work. again.