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Drone warfare
The use of drones to counter terrorism
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Drone Strikes Abroad Since 2001 after the 9/11 attacks on the world trade centers the US has been using armed drones in the middle east. They have been using unarmed drones since 2000 as surveillance drones. UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are used to target, watch, and kill targets from across the world. Drone pilots are usually in the United States on bases while the drone is in the Middle East or in another country. Drones are known to be extremely accurate and can take out a target with minimal damage to non targeted, surrounding areas. There has been some controversy regarding drone strikes, there have been reports of civilian casualties from drone strikes. Although drone strikes have killed civilians before, they should continue to use them because the gain of killing a high valued target is greater than the loss. Drones strikes are used as an alternative to a manned fighter jet. They keep human lives out of harm’s way by not putting them in the line of fire. Currently there are countless UAVs in the US Air Force with about 405 armed drones including the most popular, the Predator but not limited to it. With that many armed drones in use that means there are at least 405 pilots not at risk of being hurt, killed, …show more content…
This means that it is cheaper to operate drones then actual jets. Drones use smaller propeller engines which save fuel while fighter jets burn a lot of jet fuel. The cost of the entire drone fleet in the US Air force costs about $5 billion while it costs about $9.7 billion the F-35 fighter jet program. It costs about 6-42 times as much to operate a manned aircraft then it does to operate an unmanned aircraft (Mark Thompson). The US spent $2.2 trillion to fund manned airstrikes in Afghanistan and Iraq while Al Qaeda spent half a million dollars to execute the 9/11 attacks. With drones and unmanned aircraft we can fight terrorism just as effectively for a much cheaper
One of the benefits of the Drone is preserving U.S. life. Drones can now replace surveillance missions inside enemy territory without risking the pilots capture and death. Drones are able to slip across borders without risking lives of pilots. They can linger in foreign countries and scout potential threats for a long period of time. They can then decide when to strike the target with minimal civilian casualties. (E-IR) Drones are also able to strike a target with better targeting strategies due to the pilot being removed from the cockpit. (E-IR) Besides the capability for a drone to just hunt down a ...
Controversy has plagued America’s presence in the Middle East and America’s usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) contributes vastly to this controversy. Their usefulness and ability to keep allied troops out of harm’s reach is hardly disputed. However, their presence in countries that are not at war with America, such as Pakistan and Yemen, is something contested. People that see the implications of drone use are paying special attention to the civilian casualty count, world perspective, and the legality of drone operations in non-combative states. The use of drone technology in the countries of Yemen and Pakistan are having negative consequences. In a broad spectrum, unconsented drone strikes are illegal according to the laws of armed conflict, unethical, and are imposing a moral obligation upon those who use them. These issues are all of great importance and need to be addressed. Their legality is also something of great importance and begins with abiding to the Laws of Armed Conflict.
“Government’s targeted killing of three U.S. citizens in two drone strikes, both in Yemen, far from any armed conflict zone.” (“Targeted Killings”). Drones or unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is the technology that has taken war and fighting to a brand new level. The technology is believed to lower the use of troops and life loss in the wars that are happening today. Can that same technology be considered dangerous? Or are the side effects something that can simply be considered a small cost for something better? Drones demonstrate a growth in technological advances , and also the world. Although as brilliant this technology might be, it brings a threat to the people.
First of all both authors agree that drone strikes cause casualties among civilians. They agree that drones can cause harm among civilians as far as drones hovering above for days or weeks at a time and that; that causes fear, paranoia, and mental health problems for civilians. But where they
Drones have been said to have the potential of decreasing civilian deaths, however there is no data to support this assumption. In May Obama asserted the guidelines for drones: that a terrorist must pose "’a continuing and imminent threat’ to Americans, that no other government can address the threat effectively; and that there is ‘near-certainty’ no civilians will be killed or injured.” (Gorman, Siobaun). These standards seem reasonable; albeit, Human Rights Watch studied six strikes in Yemen and declared that each...
War can be defined as “an organized and deliberate political act by an established political authority, which must cause 1,000 or more deaths in a twelve-month period, and which requires at least two actors capable of harming each other” (253, Mingst.) This is a broad definition as war can take several different forms, categorized in various ways. Today, the United States is engaged in the War on Terror. In a post-9/11 world, terrorist attacks are even greater sources of fear to citizens, as well as massive threats to national and international security. Over the past few decades, terrorists have been successful in increasing support and achieving political aims. This poses a major security dilemma to victims, such as the United States. It is this sense of insecurity that leads to military action. Any sense of threat is likely to send a nation to arms (251-252, Mingst.) The U.S. government thus must decide as to what the best course of action would be, in protecting the nation. Over the past decade, drone use has increased exponentially for this purpose. These unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, are often used in attempts to eliminate terrorism. While it is evident that terrorism poses massive threats to the nation, drone strikes are not conducive to a just war.
In movies, aliens are always seen and monsters shooting innocent people and taking over their land. Since 2001 this has become reality, but the alien ships have turned into military drones shooting down civilians, and the monster turn into the country in control of these machines. Drones are unmanned aircraft which may be armed for hazardous missions that endangers many lives; this has impacted our military in many ways. The usage of drones was the results of the attacks on the world trade center of Sep 11. 2001. The United States has used drones to kill terrorists in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, among countries. This has ended many innocents’ lives and has provoked more issues than have solved. Drones should be removed from our military services. America would be safer without drones; they create more enemies than they destroy. Drones have also caused numerous civilians casualties, which violates international laws. Not to mention that this
Three-thousand deaths have resulted in drone attacks and only 1.5 percent of these deaths were “high profile” personnel. Out of these deaths about 20 percent were either civilian or children. This statistic only account for the known drone attacks (Galliott, Jai, and Bradley Strawser). When drones were first invented its intensions were mainly for surveillance. Over the years they have been modified and upgraded to perform tasks that can even match manned aerial vehicles which leads to the first argument for drones. With the use of drones it limits the amount of soldiers in dangerous situations. Drones are controlled by a pilot that sits in a safe command room with a high resolution feed of the area around the drone. The pilots that control the drones use a joystick to control the drone’s main abilities. Many investigations have been placed on drone operators and the environment surrounding them and the investigators state that the control over the drones simulate a video game. Since the operation of drone simulates a video game it is said that it takes away our emotional connection of the horrific side of warfare. If emotions were to be taken out of warfare taking a life of another person would be inhumane and unethical.
Drones are also called unmanned aerial vehicles. They come in various sizes for many uses. Drones are known by different names such as “Killer Drone” or “Spy” or “Surveillance Drone” as they are mostly used to decimate enemy and harm civilians, which is why drones receive negative feedback from the public. Not all people use drones in warfare, they also use them as a hobby to film and entertain. Despite the fact that drones have negative sides, they also have positive sides as well.
UAVs are causing the deaths of civilians due to the drone attacks and the US military is spending an excessive amount of money on them. According to “The Obama Administration’s Drone-Strike Dissembling” by Conor Friedersorf, between January 2012 and February 2013, “U.S. special operations airstrikes killed more than
The use of drones as weapons of war and delivery and surveillance systems should not be dismissed because many people do not realize the real capabilities of drones and how they can be used to better the world through efficient air strikes, faster delivery times, and useful surveillance. Some of the most common misconceptions about drones arise due to the lack of knowledge about what drones are. A drone is a remote controlled, pilotless aircraft that can be used to survey an area, conduct stealth missions, and deliver supplies into difficult to reach areas (Drone). Unmanned aircraft are also, contrary to popular belief, not solely machines that kill without even a thought to who is being fired upon. They have proved to be effective surveillance units in areas that may be dangerous for manned aircraft to fly, along with the potential to be reliable delivery units (Drones).
Another name for drones are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS). These are “aircraft either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a pre-programmed mission” (Cole 4). Even though there are many unique types of drones, but they usually fall under two main categories: ones that are armed and equipped with missiles and bombs and others that are used for surveillance. In the past couple of years the use of drones has increased dramatically. The reason being because “unlike manned aircraft they can stay aloft for many hours and are flown remotely so there is no danger to the flight crew” (Cole 13). There are drones that can actually fly over more than fifty hours. In countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, the Predator and U.S Reaper are physically there. Cause of the power of technology th...
As the United States deliberated the best tactic for the war, a new scientific development was made in weapons technology: unmanned drone strikes. The use of drones to attack possible terrorist outcoves is a highly debated topic due to their uncertainty of executing the mission, and their uncontrollable lethality when executed. Due to uncertainty involving suspect locations and the inability of humans to directly analyze the situation, Drone strikes have led to hundreds of mistaken civilian casualties. In Pakistan between 2004 and 2015, there have been 190 children and 534 innocent confirmed civilian casualties compared to only 52 high profile targets (Pitch Interactive 2015). Drone strikes have had massive failures in the past including misinformed attacks on schools and homes resulting in hundreds of civilian losses with virtually nothing to show for it.(Woods 2011). Even with increased precautions written into legislation and promised by military leaders, illegal drone strikes continue to take place. Military rules dictate that a near certainty of no civilian harm is mandatory for all current drone strikes, however media outlets and human right organizations continue to come forward with evidence this rule is not being followed.(Miller
Living in the digital age where we enjoy the various fruits of latest technological tools and advancements, then at the same time we cannot escape from their hidden or apparent harms. Also, it is a fact that some gadgets supported by these technological advancements are much capable to bring destruction and disaster then construction and convenience. The same goes for the Drone Technology which since past 200 years is being used to create turbulence at the global level. It has proved to be a powerful investigator and bomber at the same time. Drones are specifically associated with military actions and the countries having used them for surveillance purposes include UK, USA, Italy, Japan, Austria, Australia etc. The list of victim counties or nations is much bigger in contrast. Some prominent victims of Drone Air Strikes include Congo, Venice, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. However, it is also an undeniable fact that the massive production and usage of Drones got multiplied in the 21st century.
Other weapons that the military have used, such as bombs, destruct a larger range of area, and bombs do much more destruction. With drones, pilots a can precisely plot the location of the target, and it will only destruct a certain range, smaller than a bomb’s range of destruction. Although many people argue that drone will kill innocent civilians near the area of the target, pilots can plot specific points where the drone will attack.