Last month, whistleblower Daniel Hale was sentenced to 45 months in prison after pleading guilty to violating the Espionage Act in March. During his time in the Air Force from 2009 to 2013, Hale worked with the National Security Agency and the Joint Special Operations Task Force at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where he helped identify targets for assassination. He later worked as a contractor for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.
Listen in: https://bit.ly/HaleGandR
After leaving the Air Force, Hale became an outspoken opponent of the drone program, U.S. Foreign Policy and vocal supporter of whistleblowers.
In 2019, Hale was arrested and indicted for leaking classified documents about the U.S. drone assassination program. He’s believed to be the source for the Intercept’s series called “The Drone Papers.”
We speak with Noor Mir, a close friend of Hale and a member of the Daniel Hale Support Team, about Daniel’s story. She talks about Daniel’s background, how he came to be a whistleblower and his current status in federal custody. We also discuss the Espionage Act, Obama’s drone wars, and responses to his case on the left, right and in the media.
Noor is a DC based organizer, anti-imperialist and rabble-rouser. She was the anti-drone campaigner for Code Pink.
This is the first of three episodes focusing on the forever wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
More//
- Support Daniel Hale: https://standwithdanielhale.org/
- New York Magazine: Call Me a Traitor. Daniel Hale exposed the machinery of America’s clandestine warfare. Why did no one seem to care?. (https://nym.ag/3ANYeYD)
- Daniel at the 2013 Code Pink Drone Summit. (Daniel’s talk begins at the 29 minute mark.) (https://bit.ly/3m74re9)
- WaPo: Daniel Hale, who leaked information on U.S. drone warfare, sentenced to 45 months in prison. (https://wapo.st/2W3XhfP)
Groups Daniel is asking us to support//
- Sister Reach (https://bit.ly/3CXJ58U)
- Free Black Mamas (https://bit.ly/3sotieF)
