This week, Daniel Hale, a former intelligence analyst facing more than a decade in prison for leaking documents on the US drone program, filed an 11-page letter laying out the reasons for his actions.
It is breathtaking document, worth reading in full. theintercept.com/2021/07/24/dan…
It is breathtaking document, worth reading in full. theintercept.com/2021/07/24/dan…
Hale pleaded guilty in March. The government, seeking the max sentence in the case, has strongly implied that he was the source of a series stories for The Intercept — The Intercept, as a matter of policy, does not comment on matters relating to the identity of anonymous sources.
What we can do is focus on Hale's own words and the story that they tell. Some key sections of his remarkable letter to follow.
To begin, here's Hale describing a key moment after he left the Air Force, when he was on a panel with Faisal bin Ali Jaber, a Yemeni man who lost a brother and cousin in a 2012 drone strike.
Hale had watched the operation unfold in real-time.
Hale had watched the operation unfold in real-time.
Hale recalling the first drone strike he witnessed and his dawning realizations about the war in Afghanistan.
"Not a day goes by that I don't question the justification of my actions […] I was part of killing misguided young men who were but mere children on the day of 9/11."
"Not a day goes by that I don't question the justification of my actions […] I was part of killing misguided young men who were but mere children on the day of 9/11."
Hale on the privatization of the war on terror.
In 2013, President Obama made his first public comments on drone warfare, likening the target of a drone strike to a sniper taking aim at a crowd.
Watching the moment on TV, Hale thought to himself:
"The sniper in this scenario had been me."
Watching the moment on TV, Hale thought to himself:
"The sniper in this scenario had been me."
Finally, here's Hale on his turning point moment, when he was working for a defense contractor and a colleague suggested pulling up archived drone strike footage for entertainment.
Again, the letter is worth reading in full — link here: documentcloud.org/documents/2101…
Hale's sentencing is next week. For more information on his case, @sparrowmedia, @TeamDanielHale and @kgosztola are all good places to start.
For more on Hale's story as a human being, I would recommend this, from @KerryHowley. nymag.com/intelligencer/…
For more on Hale's story as a human being, I would recommend this, from @KerryHowley. nymag.com/intelligencer/…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
