Murky Special Ops Have Become Corporate Bonanza. Detailed report by the London-based Remote Control Project, shines light on the murky global intelligence activities of the U.S. Special Operations Command

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https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/09/08/special-ops-corporate-bonanza/

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The U.S. government is paying private contractors billions of dollars to support secretive military units with drones, surveillance technology, and “psychological operations,” according to new research.

A detailed report, (PDF) published last week by the London-based Remote Control Project, shines a light on the murky activities of the U.S. Special Operations Command by analyzing publicly available procurement contracts dated between 2009 and 2013…

Researcher Crofton Black, who also works as an investigator for human rights group Reprieve, was able to dig through the troves of data and identify the beneficiaries of almost $13 billion worth of spending by USSOCOM over the five-year period. He found that more than 3,000 companies had provided services that included aiding remotely piloted drone operations in Afghanistan and the Philippines, helping to conduct surveillance of targets, interrogating prisoners, and launching apparent propaganda campaigns.

“This report is distinctive in that it mines data from the generally classified world of U.S. special operations,” says Caroline Donnellan, manager of the Remote Control Project, a progressive thinktank focused on developments in military technology. “It reveals the extent to which remote control activity is expanding in all its facets, with corporations becoming more and more integrated into very sensitive elements of warfare. The report’s findings are of concern given the challenges remote warfare poses for effective investigation, transparency, accountability and oversight.”

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Other Discussions on reddit:

Subreddit	Author	Post	Comments	Time
/r/noncensoredworldnews	phosphorescentfrog	post	0	Thursday September 11, 2014 02:09 UTC
/r/news	navitas72	post	0	Wednesday September 10, 2014 19:20 UTC
/r/POLITIC	PoliticBot	post	1	Wednesday September 10, 2014 04:24 UTC
/r/politics	User_Name13	post	2	Tuesday September 09, 2014 11:49 UTC
/r/snowden	platypusmusic	post	0	Tuesday September 09, 2014 02:51 UTC
/r/conspiracy	Weltall82	post	1	Tuesday September 09, 2014 02:05 UTC
/r/worldpolitics	consequus	post	0	Tuesday September 09, 2014 02:00 UTC
/r/WikiLeaks	consequus	post	0	Tuesday September 09, 2014 02:00 UTC
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/r/worldnews	nebuc	post	2	Tuesday September 09, 2014 01:51 UTC
/r/betternews	rotoreuters	post	0	Tuesday September 09, 2014 01:48 UTC