U.S. Violates Iraqi Airspace With Drones

It seems like the United States still thinks it can do anything it wants in Iraq -- in spite of the fact that troops have been withdrawn and the occupation of that country has ended. Now the U.S. is flying surveillance drones over Iraq. Instead of the military or the CIA, the normal drone operators, these new drones over Iraq are being operated by the U.S. State Department.

The drones are supposedly being used "as a protective measure", but they are clearly a violation of Iraqi airspace and is being done without permission from Iraqi officials. The State Department says it is in the process of negotiating an agreement with Iraq to allow the flights, but Iraqi officials deny this. They say they have not been contacted at all about the drones being flown over their territory, and they don't like it at all. Adnan al-Asadi, the minister of the interior, says, "Our sky is our sky, not the U.S.A.'s sky."

Of course, that official is absolutely right. The United States should not be flying drones (or any other aircraft) over another country without permission from that country. Does anyone think the United States would allow another country to fly surveillance drones over the U.S.? Of course not!. The FBI would put a stop to it in a heartbeat, and the violators would either go to jail or be deported -- and might even be sent to Guantanamo as terrorists. And whatever we wouldn't allow a country to do over here, we should not be doing in another country.

The U.S. likes to brag about treating other countries with respect, but all too often our government acts like there are two sets of rules -- one for us and another for everyone else. It is this kind of lack of regard for the rights of others that makes us look like "ugly Americans" to the rest of the world. We need to stop this kind of behavior, and cease the drone flights immediately. We should exhibit the same kind of behavior we expect from other countries.