February 4th, 2002 in Afghanistan was the United States’ first targeted drone strike. Their target, a group which they believed included Osama bin Laden. A CIA Predator drone fired on the group, by the pilot sitting in a small, dark room behind a screen, seas away from the sea. They shot and killed all targets. This group turned out to be a group of civilians gathering scrap metal. A group of innocent civilians. Drones, formally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, are aircrafts without human pilots on board. Combat drones have been used in war by the United States and United Kingdom to launch missiles on active terrorist threats in countries like Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan for over 10 years. It is making war a lot easier and is saving lives of US and UK military personnel. But it is …show more content…
Pine Gap is a satellite ground station located in the Northern Territory operated by Australian and US military. According to the Nautilus Institute, it is the single most important intelligence facility outside of the US. They collect satellite images for the US drones and provide warning of missile launches. Part of our taxpayer’s money is funding this and we are oblivious to the fact because the government want to keep it confidential. Drone warfare affects us all. Drones have been used for over 10 years. If drone warfare worked they wouldn’t still be fighting in Afghanistan. These groups like the Taliban, Al-Shabab and ISIS would be eliminated. Each time someone is killed, we gain more enemies. These drone strikes are in fact counterproductive in that they are a motivating force recruiting more militants than it kills. A report from the US Institute for Peace on the Hindu Kush Valley stated “the al Qaeda presence there now is larger than when US counterterrorism forces arrived in 2002.” Local populations are also beginning to turn against these drones strikes. The Pakistani government condemn that it is a violation of
Those who oppose the use of drones in warfare claims it violates international law. They believe that the strikes have no justification therefore violating international law. (Moskowitz) They claim that the benefits of the usage of drones do not outweigh the cons of using drones. The opposition claim that civilian casualties make up 2-10% of total fatalities from drones firing on wrong targets or the civilians are collateral damage.(Globalresearch) The dissentient think it causes more unrest than peace in some regions due to the collateral damage caused to buildings and civilians and is another sign of American arrogance. (ABC News)Even though their points are valid, these reasons do not warrant the cease of drone activity.
Article One: Dainel Byman, in his article Why Drones Work: The Case for Washington’s weapon of Choice in an August 2013 article in the Brookings Institute, identifies the positive impact of US drone strikes. Byman contends that US drone strikes are extremely efficient, at little financial cost to the government, and protect the lives of American soldiers. For these reasons, Byman believes that US drone strikes are necessary to the war on terror.
In this paper, I will examine how drone strikes are instituted in America’s foreign policy and their effectiveness against terrorist organizations. Although drone warfare might seem effective and thus desirable for many people, the civilian casualties that it causes increase anti-American sentiment in the region. This sentiment creates a backlash that in fact helps terrorist groups regain their leader, recruit new members, and facilitate revenge, making drones a counterproductive foreign policy
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is a philosophical question regarding observation and reality, which can be further applied to the use of war drones. War drones, are remote controlled aircrafts that humans control on land in remote locations. These unmanned aerial vehicles must be analyzed to determine their legitimacy and morality. Drones, although having the possibility of decreasing risks to civilian and U.S. militant lives, make no binding promise. Furthermore, due to the secrecy in which they are operated the kills the vehicles do execute tend to go unnoticed because U.S. militants aren’t physically harmed; therefore, the kills go unobserved and mostly unacknowledged by the public. Secondly, drone attacks are merely aimed at killing, as opposed to capturing enemies; consequently, there is no gain of intelligence into the terrorists’ cells. Lastly, these remote controlled aircrafts can be hacked by enemies and currently we lack the security necessary to halt the hacking. The promises drones offer are empty and lack supporting evidence, while the negatives are clear and demonstrably verified; accordingly the risks drones present outweigh their possible benefits.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as Drones have been used since the civil war, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The idea of unmanned aerial vehicles had been growing more and more with every conflict our nation has come across. The use of drones is now in full effect, ranging from military operations to relief efforts. Controversies around the increased use of drones include target killings by the military and surveillance by drones within the U.S. Target killing has shown to be effective and favorable against terrorism but some have seen it as a violation of human rights
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.
Drone Strikes are used by the United States in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan in order to aid the war on terror. The proper usage of attack drones by the U.S. has been fiercely debated since President Obama has greatly increased the use of attack drones. Those who are against it argue that the strikes are not ethical and harm too many civilians for the number of possible threats the strikes eliminate. However, because these strikes are very beneficial to the war on terror and save numerous lives by combating threats and protecting American soldiers, our military should continue drone use abroad.
In contrast to this, drones strikes violate the authority of the counties they attack, most attacks are carried out without the authorization of the country .Pakistani Prime Sharif said that the "use of drones is not only a continued violation of our territorial integrity but also detrimental to our resolve at efforts in eliminating terrorism from our country... I would therefore stress the need for an end to drone attacks."( Anderson ). How are terrorist groups sopost to respect us when the example set is that invading other countries is complete okay. Not to mention that the fury by them and the rest of the country could lead someday to a devastating war or a massive attack. Adding to this United Nations ' Human Rights Chief has called US drone strikes a “violation of sovereignty” and have forced for investigations into the legality of the attacks. More of a reason for them to be remove from our
Drones are remotely controlled aerial vehicles that have been used since the Afghanistan war. The UK have began using UAVs in October 2007 during the Afghanistan war. Even though drones have many different size and shapes they fall into two categories. They are either used for surveillance or armed missions (What are Drones?). Drone strikes begun during the George W. Bush administration, and have increased substantially under President Barack Obama’s administration. Drones are wildly debated due to the fact that...
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.
There are many things in the world that we as humans do not like or understand. We do not understand why somethings happen or even exist, but they are there. One of the terrible things in our daily lives include terrorists. We don't normally understand their reasoning's, but they still happen and there is nothing we can do about it...or is there. Yes there is, and the "tool" that has been made for our seeking, and tracking of terrorist is called drone striking. Drone striking is an effective way of eliminating terrorists because of minimal U.S. losses, the physical act of drone striking, and the aftermath of drone striking.
The fleet of drones have been working nonstop and they’ve found more than seven thousand six hundred pounds of marijuana, which adds up to about nineteen million dollars. Other than finding a wide array of drugs, drones can help keep our agents safe on the ground (Ability of Drones). There are a few instances where drones were particularly helpful for the men and women on the ground. One specific way was when a drone was tracking a van filled with drugs, and was most likely headed back to an area, where it would distribute it out. Out of the blue another car appeared warning the van that something was wrong. As the agents swarmed in to capture the men they got away in the river, but the drone used inferred to make sure none of the men had stayed in the woods to ambush the agents. The drone really did its part in keeping the men on the ground safe and aware of the drug runners. Another huge problem now is ISIS. ISIS is becoming extremely powerful, although we as American aren’t that aware of their progression in the terror, they are coming and if we don’t step up our defense, and offence something totally catastrophic will happen to our country for yet another time. ISIS is here, its knocking on our doors and members are already in. we need more drones on surveillance for our borders and we need to wipe them out
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).
...only imagine how hazardous this world we live in become. Amongst countries this can become an international competition to make drones to be used as a factor. When other nations see this particular country is using some type of technology to improve their military system then they would want part of it as well. The drone practice can cause to escalate if other countries adopt to this new technology for their own reason of protection. There will be no turning back because the government of that country would take advantage of these drones to use it towards the citizens instead of using for “terrorist”. The use of these drones is definitely immoral and unethical but some may argue that the of drones as protection against “terrorist” even though as we can see it kills innocent people, creates more terrorists, causes psychological disorders, and violates privacy. (Cole)
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.