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Motive is the big reason. It's not like America is killing people for fun or some petty economic gain. America is killing people that American believes they are

Motive is the big reason. It's not like America is killing people for fun or some petty economic gain. America is killing people that American believes they are at war with. Hell, America is killing people who believe themselves to be at war with America. But drones only work when you have total air supremacy. Any halfway decent airforce can protect against the huge drones America fires missiles from.

bediger4000 11y ago
It's not like America is killing people for fun or some petty economic gain. How do we know this, again? The folks who have said this are legally bound not to say anything else. So they're not particularly believable. The Snowden revelations about PetroBras hacking somewhat (but not totally, admittedly) makes me very suspicious that network penetration goes on for petty economic gain. Why wouldn't that leak into drone strikes?
- j2kun 11y ago
  You could suppose there is an insane person in our government who is killing for fun, but that has all the usual logical pitfalls of a conspiracy theory. As for economic gain (not sure what is meant by "petty" economic gain), that has been a large part of the source of most international conflicts over the past few hundred years anyway. So that just sounds false.
  - rdancer 11y ago
    Far it be from any person to do things just because they can. They're all saints w/o blemish, protestants at that (i.e. they don't enjoy the work, rather they suffer with their victims). Whatever the job description, you will get people gravitating to it who enjoy that kind of work. It's not controversial that cooks enjoy cooking, and programmer enjoy programming. And it's not unusual that they stay after hours and do some extra work just for fun. Why would you think jobs that involve killing and torture be any different?
    - j2kun 11y ago
      > They're all saints w/o blemish You're appealing to extremes, which is a fallacy. > Why would you think jobs that involve killing and torture be any different? Why don't I think an exceptional job is an exception? It seems self evident to at least consider the possibility that killing people and cooking are fundamentally different.
- rhino369 11y ago
  Because we are talking about the known drone strikes. We know, generally, where they occur and who they target. People in the tribal Pashtun-Pakistan area, Al Qaeta in Yemen, and Somalia. If America is waging some secret economic war, it's been covered up extremely well. Spying is easily covered up. It's certainly possible. But that's hard to a reason to presume it's true.
  - morsch 11y ago
    We know about the drone strikes we know about, that much is true.
yuvadam 11y ago
There is no such thing as a war between a country and a person.
- rhino369 11y ago
  There is such a thing as a war between a country and an army of people. Attacking a member of that army isn't going to war against a person.
e12e 11y ago
> Motive is the big reason. It's not like America is killing people for (...) some petty economic gain. Is that so? And what do you base that idea on? [ed: I see a more charitable reading of your statement is possible - I do not believe it is for petty economic gain no. More like deciding the future of the world economy and access to/control over natural resources.] > (...) drones only work when you have total air supremacy. Any halfway decent airforce can protect against the huge drones America fires missiles from. Very important point. Committing war crimes with drones in Yemen is like shooting fish in a barrel. Except of course for all the dead kids. It's perhaps more interesting what kind of precedent this sets for inevitable proxy wars across the Middle East and Africa -- when cruise missiles, drones etc fired by Chinese/Russian contractors kill US/NATO contractors.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
> It's not like America is killing people for (...) some petty economic gain. America is killing people that American believes they are at war with. Hell, America is killing people who believe themselves to be at war with America. Bujać - to my, panowie szlachta... O, my untutored simple friend, mate from this land, or other land! Know that the bells for these alarums kings strike, with girls with ample charms, Know it’s all hogwash, lies perverted, And when these call out: ‘Shoulder arms!’ That somewhere from the ground oil spurted, With dollars soiling the bright colours; That in their banks there’s something rotten, They smelled some moneybags, it looks, Or cooked some scheme, the oily crooks, For higher import tax for cotton. Drum on the pavement with your gun! Ours the blood, the oil is theirs! And through each capital and town Scream out, to guard your cash blood-won: ‘Tell us another, noble sirs!’. -- Julian Tuwim - Do prostego człowieka (To the Simple Man). http://www.antoranz.net/CURIOSA/ZBIOR7/C0710/20071014-QZM02062_Tuwim.HTM http://www.antoranz.net/CURIOSA/ZBIOR7/C0710/20071014-QZM020...
- aidenn0 11y ago
  Thanks for sharing that; this was written in 1929 for those who were wondering. Also, the regime the criticism was most likely targeted at (Józef Piłsudski who was in power at that point due to a military coup), exercised its military actions at least partly in an attempt to prevent Poland from becoming either Soviet or Prussian, a danger far more existential for the Polish nation-state than terrorism is to the US.

bediger4000 11y ago

It's not like America is killing people for fun or some petty economic gain. How do we know this, again? The folks who have said this are legally bound not to say anything else. So they're not particularly believable. The Snowden revelations about PetroBras hacking somewhat (but not totally, admittedly) makes me very suspicious that network penetration goes on for petty economic gain. Why wouldn't that leak into drone strikes?

j2kun 11y ago
You could suppose there is an insane person in our government who is killing for fun, but that has all the usual logical pitfalls of a conspiracy theory. As for economic gain (not sure what is meant by "petty" economic gain), that has been a large part of the source of most international conflicts over the past few hundred years anyway. So that just sounds false.
- rdancer 11y ago
  Far it be from any person to do things just because they can. They're all saints w/o blemish, protestants at that (i.e. they don't enjoy the work, rather they suffer with their victims). Whatever the job description, you will get people gravitating to it who enjoy that kind of work. It's not controversial that cooks enjoy cooking, and programmer enjoy programming. And it's not unusual that they stay after hours and do some extra work just for fun. Why would you think jobs that involve killing and torture be any different?
  - j2kun 11y ago
    > They're all saints w/o blemish You're appealing to extremes, which is a fallacy. > Why would you think jobs that involve killing and torture be any different? Why don't I think an exceptional job is an exception? It seems self evident to at least consider the possibility that killing people and cooking are fundamentally different.
rhino369 11y ago
Because we are talking about the known drone strikes. We know, generally, where they occur and who they target. People in the tribal Pashtun-Pakistan area, Al Qaeta in Yemen, and Somalia. If America is waging some secret economic war, it's been covered up extremely well. Spying is easily covered up. It's certainly possible. But that's hard to a reason to presume it's true.
- morsch 11y ago
  We know about the drone strikes we know about, that much is true.

yuvadam 11y ago

There is no such thing as a war between a country and a person.

rhino369 11y ago
There is such a thing as a war between a country and an army of people. Attacking a member of that army isn't going to war against a person.

e12e 11y ago

> Motive is the big reason. It's not like America is killing people for (...) some petty economic gain. Is that so? And what do you base that idea on? [ed: I see a more charitable reading of your statement is possible - I do not believe it is for petty economic gain no. More like deciding the future of the world economy and access to/control over natural resources.] > (...) drones only work when you have total air supremacy. Any halfway decent airforce can protect against the huge drones America fires missiles from. Very important point. Committing war crimes with drones in Yemen is like shooting fish in a barrel. Except of course for all the dead kids. It's perhaps more interesting what kind of precedent this sets for inevitable proxy wars across the Middle East and Africa -- when cruise missiles, drones etc fired by Chinese/Russian contractors kill US/NATO contractors.

TeMPOraL 11y ago

> It's not like America is killing people for (...) some petty economic gain. America is killing people that American believes they are at war with. Hell, America is killing people who believe themselves to be at war with America. Bujać - to my, panowie szlachta... O, my untutored simple friend, mate from this land, or other land! Know that the bells for these alarums kings strike, with girls with ample charms, Know it’s all hogwash, lies perverted, And when these call out: ‘Shoulder arms!’ That somewhere from the ground oil spurted, With dollars soiling the bright colours; That in their banks there’s something rotten, They smelled some moneybags, it looks, Or cooked some scheme, the oily crooks, For higher import tax for cotton. Drum on the pavement with your gun! Ours the blood, the oil is theirs! And through each capital and town Scream out, to guard your cash blood-won: ‘Tell us another, noble sirs!’. -- Julian Tuwim - Do prostego człowieka (To the Simple Man). http://www.antoranz.net/CURIOSA/ZBIOR7/C0710/20071014-QZM02062_Tuwim.HTM http://www.antoranz.net/CURIOSA/ZBIOR7/C0710/20071014-QZM020...

aidenn0 11y ago
Thanks for sharing that; this was written in 1929 for those who were wondering. Also, the regime the criticism was most likely targeted at (Józef Piłsudski who was in power at that point due to a military coup), exercised its military actions at least partly in an attempt to prevent Poland from becoming either Soviet or Prussian, a danger far more existential for the Polish nation-state than terrorism is to the US.