[The Guardian] Speaking at the Berlin film festival, documentarian Sonia Kennebeck discusses her Wim Wenders-produced film National Bird, which reveals widespread post-traumatic stress disorder among employees of the US's drone division.We've all seen this film before: the grainy black-and-white shot with a crosshair on top. Dark blobs moving across the screen. Then, a pause, an explosion and dust. A few moments later you can make out the bodies. Sometimes you'll see the injured, dragging themselves out of the wreckage.
...followed by wild cheering, high-fives, and applause in the SCIF or Opns Center as the A-10 makes another pass, taking out the 'squirters' as they attempt to drag themselves off.
Whatever your take on drone warfare, watching video of a strike is an upsetting experience. Now a documentary, National Bird, seeks to describe the traumatic effect that planning and executing these strikes has had on some military personnel.