Readers of the Washington Post can see this headline in today’s edition (4/25/11) about the U.S. drone airstrikes:
Debates Underway on Combat Drones
But there is no actual debate in the article. Reporter Walter Pincus cites a British military study that calls the use of missile-firing drones “a genuine revolution in military affairs,” adding that the “use of unmanned aircraft prevents the potential loss of aircrew lives and is thus in itself morally justified.”
Pincus goes on to explain:
At a Washington conference of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) last week, the issue of drones was also widely discussed.
That “wide discussion” would seem to have involved drone proponents from the CIA and the military. Those quoted by the Post were:
–“Lt. Col. Bruce Black, program manager for the Air Force Predator and Reaper aircraft.”
–“former CIA director Michael V. Hayden,” who explained that drone pilots “can call up computer maps that show the potential effects of each weapon.” Hayden explained that teams can ask for an attack’s likely impact on the ground–which is apparently called “the bug splat.”
–“Retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, former Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” who apparently talked about “potential problems with public perceptions.”
–“Col. Dean Bushey, deputy director of the Air Force Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center,” who explained that drone pilots train like conventional pilots.
There are plenty of questions to ask about a government policy of assassination by remote-controlled drone aircraft–including whether or not this is even legal. The Post‘s “debate” would seem to exclude anyone who doesn’t think this is a sound policy.
It’s been recently reported that over 950 civilians in Pakistan have been murdered by US drones. How many will now be murdered in Libya.
http://nwoobserver.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/us-drones-killed-957-pakistani-civilians-in-2010/
US drones killed 957 Pakistani civilians in 2010
Published: Apr. 14, 2011- The Irish Sun
A total of 957 Pakistani civilians were killed in American drone attacks in the country 2010, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in its annual report Thursday.
The report that focused on human rights violations in the country also laid an emphasis on terror attacks in 2010, according to Xinhua.
It said terrorist attacks in Pakistan left 2,542 people dead and 5,062 others injured in 2010.
â┚¬Ã‹Å“Target killings’ in the country’s port city of Karachi saw the death of 237 political activists while in the southwestern province of Balochistan, at least 118 people were killed, the report said.
At least 1,159 people, including 1,041 civilians, lost their lives in 67 suicide bomb attacks in the country.
During 2010, at least 12,580 people were killed in different incidents, including 791 honour killings. A total of 581 people were kidnapped for ransom.
The report, whose statistics were derived largely from media and other undisclosed sources, criticised the government for failing to protect the citizens, especially religious minorities.
It said the biggest terrorist incident took place in Lahore at a place of worship place of a religious minority. The attack left 99 members of the Ahmadi sect dead.
The commission officials, in the report, urged political parties to work together to improve the human rights situation in the country.
Source: http://story.irishsun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/2411cd3571b4f088/id/769208/cs/1/
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With the risk of sounding ill informed I thought that the Drones were just some make believe CGI robots from a Michael Bay movie. (just kidding) War is evil but the Drones take it to a whole new level of bad, evil, and weird violence that’s happening in the world. And for some reason I always seem to have it stuck in my head that one drone joke that Obama told about warning the boys who are interested in his daughters to “remember that he has drones.” And you thought my drone joke was bad…
How do you justify the statement that because these drones spare military lives, that makes them “morally justified” ? All war should be hand to hand combat, up close and personal. When war becomes mechanical all the heart-rending anguish, on the part of the aggressor, is taken away. No up-close experiences of blood and guts and screams of agony, to sway the humanity of the attacker, just cold, metallic death from afar. Morally justified? What an obscene statement.
From a civilian point of view, drones appear not fundamentally different from land mines; only that with the former, you walk out of your house and the air explodes, with the latter the ground explodes. Either way, you did nothing but tried to live, now you’re dead, and the criminal aggressor neither knows nor cares.
Last night we took out the head Rodent.Prez on down did a great job.A drone was i am sure on hold for some time. Even with boots on the ground ,in close…others died in that compound. That is war. People die
My concern is that if the big business elite is so united in using these tools against its enemies abroad, to what lengths will they go when they decide we are not in line?
Interesting developments.There are reports now that no-one was armed in the compound.That Osama may of been taken captive ,and shot in front of his daughters.Now as our president- who is the great transparency leader of our times has not yet released a coherent report of what transpired .. i will take everything with a grain of salt and give all the benefit of the doubt.BUT……. I will await the pounding on this forum against America and Obama that one would expect,if Bush had been in charge and possibly ordered a summary execution.Lets not be cute…..Navy seals don’t fly in there and kill whom they want on a whim.
And another thing that occurs to me.The information was gained through water boarding and Obama used it toward this end.Grand hypocrisy?Obama said during his run that he would (as prez) capture OBL, -return him to New York, and try him there.So what happened?It would seem to me that although the move on one hand was a “gutsy move”as has been reported…It also was the only move open to him. Imagine if he had not acted.Remember Clinton let him slip many times.Bush at Tora bora.Obama had a good idea where he was for more than a year.Got a feeling lot more to come on this one. Personally as a conservative who believes Osama was unrepentantly conducting war on us- that bullet in the eye was about right. But Im sure the hypocrisy you will see when measured against your own beliefs will jump out at you libs.Only to be “hushed” aside.