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> The U.S. may have ended the policy of openly torturing people, but they're still proudly assassinating people in foreign countries with drones. That's a bit

> The U.S. may have ended the policy of openly torturing people, but they're still proudly assassinating people in foreign countries with drones. That's a bit different. Arguably, that's taking place in a state of war. Also, what makes you think our complaining actually requires moral high ground? Complaints are made from a high ground made of power, not morality.

beloch 10y ago
Drone strikes are taking place in countries like Pakistan and Yemen, where there is no official war with the U.S.. Their success rate is terrible[1]. They miss their intended target most of the time[2]. Thousands of civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed[3]. I'm not sure what you meant by saying complaints are made from a high ground of power. Plenty of powerless people in Yemen and Pakistan have complained are are complaining. Perhaps you meant that complaints are actually listened to and addressed when made from a position of power? This is true. However, sometimes complaints can be made from a position of weakness and be listened to when made from a moral high ground and massively supported by the public. e.g. Gandhi's passive resistance movement. My entire point is that, when other actors are able to strike targets on U.S. soil with drones, power is the only thing that the U.S. will have to stop them, and it might not be adequate. Drones are going to be very difficult to control in a few years. The U.S. has opened a Pandora's box by using them in such fashion. Heck, the U.S. government has behaved so outrageously over the last decade that U.S. citizens are likely to blame their own government when drone strikes happen on U.S. soil! [1]http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/15/90-of-people-killed-by-us-drone-strikes-in-afghani/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/15/90-of-people... [2]http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-obama-administrations-drone-strike-dissembling/473541/ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-obam... [3]https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/drones-graphs/ https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/dron...
- MawNicker 10y ago
  > Heck, the U.S. government has behaved so outrageously over the last decade that U.S. citizens are likely to blame their own government when drone strikes happen on U.S. soil! Nah. We respect Hanlon's Dodge. Our government is a tool of the shadow government. It's a dirty mark on Americans just like the Jihad is a dirty mark on Muslims. Balkanize all the things!
ryanlol 10y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_United_States#Formal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_Unit...

beloch 10y ago

Drone strikes are taking place in countries like Pakistan and Yemen, where there is no official war with the U.S.. Their success rate is terrible[1]. They miss their intended target most of the time[2]. Thousands of civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed[3]. I'm not sure what you meant by saying complaints are made from a high ground of power. Plenty of powerless people in Yemen and Pakistan have complained are are complaining. Perhaps you meant that complaints are actually listened to and addressed when made from a position of power? This is true. However, sometimes complaints can be made from a position of weakness and be listened to when made from a moral high ground and massively supported by the public. e.g. Gandhi's passive resistance movement. My entire point is that, when other actors are able to strike targets on U.S. soil with drones, power is the only thing that the U.S. will have to stop them, and it might not be adequate. Drones are going to be very difficult to control in a few years. The U.S. has opened a Pandora's box by using them in such fashion. Heck, the U.S. government has behaved so outrageously over the last decade that U.S. citizens are likely to blame their own government when drone strikes happen on U.S. soil! [1]http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/15/90-of-people-killed-by-us-drone-strikes-in-afghani/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/15/90-of-people... [2]http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-obama-administrations-drone-strike-dissembling/473541/ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-obam... [3]https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/drones-graphs/ https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/dron...

MawNicker 10y ago
> Heck, the U.S. government has behaved so outrageously over the last decade that U.S. citizens are likely to blame their own government when drone strikes happen on U.S. soil! Nah. We respect Hanlon's Dodge. Our government is a tool of the shadow government. It's a dirty mark on Americans just like the Jihad is a dirty mark on Muslims. Balkanize all the things!

ryanlol 10y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_United_States#Formal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war_by_the_Unit...