National Bird

Three American veterans who played various roles in drone attacks in the Middle East have now come forward as whistleblowers. From their stories, we learn that it isn’t by chance that attacks using unmanned aircraft cause so many civilian deaths; they aren’t as well-planned and accurate as President Obama claims. examines the personal consequences for the veterans: Heather suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Daniel became an activist and is scared of being arrested for treason, and Lisa is racked with guilt for having caused people to die. She even travels to Afghanistan to meet the family members of those killed by a drone, revealing the consequences of the remote and anonymous act of a soldier sitting at a screen in the United States. The transcript of a radio conversation between soldiers forms a powerful reconstruction of a lethal attack on a group of people who, it later turned out, were of no danger. The drone footage of Afghanistan is intercut with aerial shots of American streets, highlighting the randomness of the attacks.