4 ms·

After reading "unmanned: illusion of perfect war", it seems American military has more drones than all countries combined. American drones have killed quite a l

by nojvek 10y ago

After reading "unmanned: illusion of perfect war", it seems American military has more drones than all countries combined. American drones have killed quite a lot of civilians. While I don't like war, it was about time someone gave US a taste of their own curry.

M_Grey 10y ago
It's one of those things that outrages everyone, until they get the same capability, and then is utterly adopted. We do a lot of things wrong, mostly to do with overuse of our assets, but there is nothing inherently wrong with drones. Our policy of using them so freely on the other hand...
- cyberferret 10y ago
  Or, to flip the viewpoint around 180, "Drone strikes are a safe, low risk, low cost and legitimate method of snuffing out the lives of people we believe and supporting, funding, training, or harbouring people who mean to do us harm with absolute impunity and no consideration for the justice system." ...until the 'other guys' start doing the same. Then it becomes a heinous, unfair act of terror.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    Exactly... perspective dominates all.
grandalf 10y ago
It's just a slightly more high-tech version of terrorism...
rebootthesystem 10y ago
Before I ask the question: I am not arguing with or criticizing you. I am not taking sides. I am genuinely interested in answers to my question. I am not myself sure what that answer could be. Killing anyone is horrible. We should be past these kinds of behaviors as a species. That said, here's the question: How would you approach eliminating terrorists, terrorist training camps, terrorist strongholds and terrorist leaders with zero collateral damage? Of course, knowing full well that the collateral damage is split between terrorist supporters and absolutely innocent people. Remember, these are the very people who not only want to but have killed thousands, tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands innocent civilians throughout the world. If they could detonate a massive bomb in the middle of a stadium full with 50,000 people, they would. In other words, they are coming to kill you, your family, friends and loved ones. What do you do? In many ways it's the old "If you could save a thousand lives by taking one, would you?" I've heard opinions ranging from "just get out of the middle east and let them rot in hell" to "one nuke, one time and it's over". Not sure what the answer is. Always interested in hearing what others might thing the solution could be.
- 2AF3 10y ago
  stop funding them and supplying them with weapons and training
  - rebootthesystem 10y ago
    Won't someone else do that? The weapons industry is sick this way. The US doesn't want to sell? OK, maybe Russia does. Or some third party who knows how to get them, whether a front for a country or not. Truly sick.

by nojvek 10y ago

M_Grey 10y ago

It's one of those things that outrages everyone, until they get the same capability, and then is utterly adopted. We do a lot of things wrong, mostly to do with overuse of our assets, but there is nothing inherently wrong with drones. Our policy of using them so freely on the other hand...

cyberferret 10y ago
Or, to flip the viewpoint around 180, "Drone strikes are a safe, low risk, low cost and legitimate method of snuffing out the lives of people we believe and supporting, funding, training, or harbouring people who mean to do us harm with absolute impunity and no consideration for the justice system." ...until the 'other guys' start doing the same. Then it becomes a heinous, unfair act of terror.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Exactly... perspective dominates all.

grandalf 10y ago

It's just a slightly more high-tech version of terrorism...

rebootthesystem 10y ago

Before I ask the question: I am not arguing with or criticizing you. I am not taking sides. I am genuinely interested in answers to my question. I am not myself sure what that answer could be. Killing anyone is horrible. We should be past these kinds of behaviors as a species. That said, here's the question: How would you approach eliminating terrorists, terrorist training camps, terrorist strongholds and terrorist leaders with zero collateral damage? Of course, knowing full well that the collateral damage is split between terrorist supporters and absolutely innocent people. Remember, these are the very people who not only want to but have killed thousands, tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands innocent civilians throughout the world. If they could detonate a massive bomb in the middle of a stadium full with 50,000 people, they would. In other words, they are coming to kill you, your family, friends and loved ones. What do you do? In many ways it's the old "If you could save a thousand lives by taking one, would you?" I've heard opinions ranging from "just get out of the middle east and let them rot in hell" to "one nuke, one time and it's over". Not sure what the answer is. Always interested in hearing what others might thing the solution could be.

2AF3 10y ago
stop funding them and supplying them with weapons and training
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  Won't someone else do that? The weapons industry is sick this way. The US doesn't want to sell? OK, maybe Russia does. Or some third party who knows how to get them, whether a front for a country or not. Truly sick.