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Role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Modern Warfare
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Drones: Peace Keeper or Terrorist Teacher 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. Following the Laws of Armed Conflict is something the United States has been circumventing, bending, and breaking with the increase of drone use (Killmister). Drones are currently operating at a rate never seen before and are revolutionizing the way the military operates. With changes in military tactics there are also expectations in terms of the way these new tactics are used. Loosely defined, the Laws of Armed conflict consist of the way nations at war shall conduct themselves, how neutral powers are to act, and how neutral and combative states are supposed to interact with one another (Lucas). This being said, it is debated whether or not the United States is interacting with neutral states in a... ... middle of paper ... ...Suzy. Remote Weaponry: The Ethical Implications. Vol. 25. N.A.: Society For Applied Philosophy, 2008. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. . Lucas, George. New Rules for New Wars. Rep. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Military Ethics and "Irregular Warfare" Web. 16 Apr. 2013. . Savage, Charlie. "U.N. Report Highly Critical of American Drone Attacks, Warning of Use by Others." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 June 2010. Web. 15 April 2014. Woods, Chris. "‘Drones Causing Mass Trauma Among Civilians,’ Major Study Finds." The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. N.p., 25 Sept. 2012. Web. April 16 2014. Woods, Chris. "Games Without Frontiers, War Without Tears." Cover Story. New Statesman. N.p., 18 June 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
In the article ‘’Confessions of a Drone Warrior’’, published in the GQ in October 22, 2013, by Matthew Power, the author talks about a drone pilot’s experience after working with military drones for 6 years. In this article, the main point the author is trying to prove is that flying military drones is not some kind of video game, it’s as real as it gets, even though the pilot doesn’t actually take part in combat. It can change people. During his service, the Airman First Class Brandon Bryant killed 1626 people. It’s terrifying, considering that the pilot had to watch every person die. His job was to monitor people(normally high-value targets in Afghanistan) from the sky and when he got the command to kill from the authorities, he fired a missile
Tzu, Mo. Against Offensive Warfare. Ed. Michael Austin. Reading the World: Ideas that Matter. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2010. 254-255. Print.
McGuigan, Cathleen. "Theater Of War." Newsweek 151.14 (2008): 52-53. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Mar. 2010.
Anderson, F., and R.S Stephenson. The War That Made America. Penguin Group USA, 2005. (accessed December 5th , 2013).
Moseley, Alexander. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Just War Theory. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2012. .
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
A modification within the paradigm of armed conflict has begun to manifest itself, due to no small part of the United States self-proclaimed war on terror; it is the use of military drones. In addition, this war is being conducted on a global scale, these drones provide a more nimble and swifter approach, however, can these devices be compliant under IHL? In addition, the case against drones includes violations of sovereignty, excess death of civilian along with destruction of civilian infra structures and extra-judicial killings. These are legitimate concerns and depend-ing on how these devices re used will determine how these concerns are dealt with
One of the latest and most controversial topics that has risen over the past five to ten years is whether or not drones should be used as a means of war, surveillance, and delivery systems. Common misconceptions usually lead to people’s opposition to the use of drones; which is the reason it is important for people to know the facts about how and why they are used. Wartime capabilities will provide for less casualties and more effective strikes. New delivery and surveillance systems in Africa, the United Air Emirates and the United States will cut costs and increase efficiency across the board. Rules and regulations on drones may be difficult to enforce, but will not be impossible to achieve. 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.
A lot of countries all over the world depend on technological advances to fight against their opponents. This reduced the risk of having a soldier wounded or dying in a war by making it easier with using these technologies when it comes to head to head combat. Even though using technologies are a great idea but many ethical issues arise from it. One of the main issue is the use of these Drones. This technology is developing more and more. In a recent study showed that there are over 700 active drone development all over the world and these programs are controlled under companies, research institutes, and the government. United States is mainly using these drones to fight against so called “terrorist” but some other countries use them as well. It is immoral and unethical to use these drones because it cause psychological disorders, violate privacy, cause deaths of innocent lives, and increase terrorism. (Reardon)
Watson, Cynthia Ann. Combatant Commands Origins, Structure, and Engagements. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2011. Print.
This paper is meant to outline what are combat ethical dilemmas, define those at the small-unit level made by war fighters all the way to the strategic level decision makers and the policy of war. Often we analyze
This buzzing killer is the destroyer of mentalities of the human race. The drone is known as the newly improved warfare machine. Whereas, the United States of America has begun using the aircraft in the Middle East with goals of fixing the terrorism issue. By defining the importance of humane warfare instead of solely machine warfare since drones are horrendous tactics for the military, by refuting those who claim drones make warfare a safer location, by presenting case studies, statistics, visual depictions, and sound arguments, one will be persuaded that drones are inefficient resources until further proven extremely precise without technical difficulties.
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.
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