the u.s. weapon of choice in warfare these days is drone but the new wave of drones capable of taking off and landing on aircraft carriers could mean a major expansion of this secret program will explore a had. 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 valid to block brennan from that post what rand paul is demanding coming up. and you see now the pentagon just inked a deal for a smartphone that can determine your fingerprints and face the scanning details ahead. it's thursday february fourteenth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our. we began 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 on the thus far secret drone campaign and as of now we have a drone bases in places like pakistan and djibouti africa as covert drone warfare becomes a critical foreign policy strategy we can expect even more of these bases to pop up but what if you didn't need to set up a base in these volatile countries that could be the case of drone aircraft carriers were were put to use you're looking now at the navy's x. forty seven b. drone aircraft which is the in the testing phase right now the first take off at sea set to happen sometime this year so how can this change the u.s. military strategy to discuss i was joined earlier by michael brooks producer of the majority report 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 mentions and the co-author of this article you like clifton and i which we co-wrote for alter net we're 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 it's. 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 adverse impact 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 in these 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 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 toxically 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 this is the distinguished warfare medal the first of its kind it's awarded to troops that operate their remote control 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 well outgoing defense secretary leon panetta may be announcement yesterday and pleased to announce today formally

approved the establishment of the new distinguish were for middle middle provides distinct 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 medals are for troops that don't actually put their life in danger if anything this proves that as the face of war of all so it is the definition of a successful so there. celerity one u.s. senator says the nominee to head the cia is a no go by rand paul is holding up john brennan's confirmation when we come back. 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're 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 patrie down the line there's still a lot of snow out here a good place for snow banks play. decent it is going to be pretty incredible day there and the record snowfall throughout much of my building is largely draw their list of emergency vehicles are exceptions. 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 knives

out. but if you feel this write up the bad thing there again here in the story would be i don't want me to talk about your name and me. say. just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old i just 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 role that out you see as a 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 help you distract us from what you and i should care about because they're profit driven industry that sells a sensationalistic garbage he calls it breaking news i'm happy martin and we're going to break the set. of president obama's pick for the 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 program i'm going to hold 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 they actually believe they have the power to a politician to a political office to kill an american in the united states without a trial of a libertarian leaning senator also wrote a letter to brennan in which he asks dozens of questions about the drone campaign and then tell those questions are answered paul says help block brennan confirmation but will the tactic work to discuss i was joined earlier by tom juneau writer at large for ask choir and he says rand paul's demanding answers are likely won't get them. john brennan has been silkily that is likely to be those questions for quite a while now the obama administration just recently. in answer to. a seal use request for information has said or the cia has once again said that 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 would 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 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 secret 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 rouse before this thing started that this was the time when john it was have to answer questions he was asked very few questions and he answered even fewer than. you know ron paul he is not alone in 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 tom a lot of questions what do you think is the most urgent that the public deserves a right to know. the 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 is it entitle to know if last last year the. the government not only killed and moral locky the reputed a leader. it also killed two weeks later 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 killer. 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 the isha and. that will 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 is 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 they think that brennan and does he have an obligation to make these questions public by 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 whether 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 and i think i don't think that's exactly what she meant but it sure sounded like that well 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 quire well if you watched r.t. you've heard of the war on whistleblowers but here's a new twist and indiana farms and agricultural businesses want to outlaw videotaping on their property and this week a state senate committee sided with the farms to make it illegal to take video or snap photos that can embarrass or harm the farm according to the indy star this after some farmers say releasing images like the ones you see on the screen right now have been disastrous for business it's usually a result of journalist or whistleblower that make public the mistreatment of animals or inhumane working conditions conditions expose in documentaries like food and there is an effort to make it to others photo just for the operation. i find it incredible that the f.d.a. wants to allow the sale of moved down almost without any labeling. without visual

proof it would be difficult or impossible to know what really goes on behind closed doors the supporters of the bill like the indiana farm bureau and the indiana manufacturers association say people should take their videos to the police not the internet. also had. chalo west is not playing any sweet music these days thanks to the t.s.a. what he has to say after airport security busted and expensive. back in a moment. let me let me we're going to let me ask you a point. here on this morning because what we're having the thing we are going. to. be the issue is this write up by saying there again here it is the story

will be i don't want me to talk about surveillance me.

we just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old don't you tell the truth. let me confess and i am get a friend that i love traveling hip hop music and tricks. he was kind of a yesterday. i'm very proud of the role without you she has played.

live. the worst journalists a lonely life out of a day a radio guy unplug from a quick. quote we're about to go get your never seen anything like this i'm telling . well that's why we brought you the story of a german cello soloist by the name of albon gerhardt who was cello bow with damage at washington duals airport allegedly by instructors working for the transportation security administration girl her open his cello case in chicago o'hare airport to

find that his bow valued at twenty thousand dollars had snapped her cut up with artie sister company roughly take a listen emotionally. what a relief for us musicians and boys go for like a little car and those are very nice proceeded. to have that broken because they don't do them any more than two or three hundred years old it's almost impossible to replace that hearsay is 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 caliber her excuse me and we are going to leave it off there but for more on the stories we cover check out our youtube channel youtube dot com slash r t america or a website. called usa or follow me on twitter at liz wahl for now have a great night and a great valentine's day. potentially deadly blizzard taking aim

for the northeast it's expected to hit stunning in a few hours from new york to maine we have team coverage of the storm. but what 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 cattery down the line there's still a lot of snow out here a good place for snowball fight. d.c. it is going to pretty incredible day there and even record snowfall throughout much of in my building is largely driving lessons to them urgency exceptions.

let me let me i want to know will let me ask you a question from. here on the spent working its way around in the bank we have our knives out. in the fields the sight of space staying there again you're in a situation where being i don't want me to talk about surveillance me. say.

we just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old i just tell the truth. i'm a contestant i'm a total get of friends that i love brad because he's a trip. he was kind of a yesterday. i'm very proud of the role that algis she has played. here's mitt romney trying to figure out the name of that thing that the americans call a dollar. i'm sorry i'm just

a guy who cares an awful lot about my country music stars are a fool you know what kind of mind a terrorist cells in your neighborhood know what he was saying to feature a something on wimpole the christian public. can scarcely slip out of the islamists are going to distract us from what you and i should care about because they're a profit driven industry that's those officials that garbage because that breaking news i'm out to martin and we're going to break that.