This
is part four of a nine part series will illuminating the FAA’s
complacency and the role the FAA’s concession played in the
violence against Water Protectors. A listing of the other eight
articles is at the bottom of this article.
Only extreme cold
and wind stop the air above camp from churning under the wings of the
spy-crafts. At night planes fly with no lights on. The helicopters
fly low. During the day helicopters buzz the camp, making their
presence known as they gather intelligence on the camps and the
people in them.
Water Protectors
report and video evidence shows helicopter and airplanes flying at
just 200 feet above the camp and actions. Low altitude aircraft visit
often, sometimes in the dark hours of the morning. The low, night
flyovers disrupt Water Protectors sleep and make them feel uneasy.
Water Protectors who have left report feeling fear when they hear
planes and helicopters.
Low Intensity
Conflict generally includes surveillance, intelligence gathering,
shows of force, psychological operations, and in conjunction with
civil authorities like police.
The United States
Army defines Low Intensity Conflict as:
“Low intensity
conflict is a political-military confrontation between contending
states or groups below conventional war and above the routine,
peaceful competition among states. It frequently involves protracted
struggles of competing principles and ideologies. Low intensity
conflict ranges from subversion to the use of armed force. It is
waged by a combination of means, employing political, economic,
informational, and military instruments.”
The manual
continues:
“...successful
LIC operations, consistent with US interests and laws, can advance US
international goals such as the growth of freedom, democratic
institutions, and free market economies.”
The low flying
planes and helicopters are equipped with surveillance equipment.
Photo
by John Wathen
Water Protectors
attempted to keep logs of the aircraft flying overhead the camps. The
sheer volume of aircraft and events during the month made keeping
complete logs difficult.
Aircraft can be in
the air for several hours or just a few minutes.
The logs covered
fourteen days between October 6 – November 2, 2016. The log did not
include October 22-28, the days leading up to the raid, the day of
the raid and the day after the raid – the days of the highest
aircraft presence.
It recorded the
number of independent visits by aircraft.
Totals by type of
aircraft:
Aircraft Type
|
Visits
|
| Helicopters | 47 |
| Biplanes | 34 |
| Single Wing Plane | 7 |
| Drone | 1 |
| Total Aircraft Visits | 89 |
Visits per day: 6.3
One visit every 3
hours and 48 minutes
Most of the heights
of the passes were not recorded however the logs did record six low
altitude passes, or one every two days and 8 hours.
Low Altitude Pass Information
|
Statistic
|
| Recorded Low Altitude Passes | 6 |
| Hours Between Low Altitude Passes | 32 |
Most of the tail
numbers were not recorded but the ones which were recorded showed
which aircraft were most commonly in the sky.
Aircraft Type
|
Tail Number
|
Visits
|
| Helicopter |
N16757
|
4 |
| Helicopter |
N2838H
|
15 |
| Biplane |
N299SP
|
5 |
The prosecutors
charging Water Protectors have admitted in court that they are using
DAPL surveillance to identify Water Protectors and as evidence in
prosecutions, according to Criminal Defense Attorney Angela Bibens of
the Water Protectors Legal Collective, the organization coordinating
legal efforts for the Water Protectors.
The point is not
simply to annoy, but to actually collude to collect evidence and
perform surveillance on the Water Protectors.
"The endless
buzz of surveillance planes, helicopters and drones that fly over our
heads at camp reminds us every day we very much live in the world
Edward Snowden has described to us,” said embedded journalist
Johnny Dangers.
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