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Drones and counter terrorism
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Over the course of the 21st century, the United States’ use of unmanned aerial vehicles (also commonly referred to as drones) has increased substantially. In the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the United States’ government began using military strategies incorporating drones to eliminate terrorists and other threatening extremist groups. Multiple positive and negative factors arise with the discussion of this topic, and has proven to be controversial to the American population. Overall, drones have demonstrated to be extremely useful with combatting terrorists and should continue being implemented in the military. Drones are powerful weapons that provide stealthy and lethal attacks on enemies of the United States. These machines have been protecting this country from harmful threats, including “dozens of high-commanders implicated in organizing plots against the United States” (Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?). The “War on Terror” is a major problem in the world today, and needs …show more content…
Other modernized weapons such as planes, bombs, and machine guns are the weapons that are playing a part in the deaths of innocent civilians. The drone is an extremely precise and accurate aircraft, and the majority of the casualties in drone strikes are the intended targets. Drones are never sent to destroy targets without a coordinated plan. Targets will be observed and reviewed for days or even weeks before the order is given; sometimes an order is not given at all. Authorities monitor where civilians are located and will ensure that they will not be affected by the attack. The target(s) schedules are tracked, and once the president of the United States feels comfortable with launching the attack, the order is authorized. These safe guidelines are preventing many lives from being destroyed, and at the same time eliminating the
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.
"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.
The moment I received the prompt to explore just war theory, the first controversial topic containing strong arguments on both sides that interested me was that of drone warfare. As tensions rise between countries and technology improves, the possibility of advanced warfare among nations seems imminent as drones are deployed in replacement of soldiers. The purposes of these unmanned drones in present day are primarily intel collection and target acquisition, which usually leads to extermination of known and presumed threats to the dispatcher. In the United States, when it comes to the topic of using drones within foreign countries, most of the citizens will agree that it is an efficient way to remotely deal with immediate threats to the country.
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.
Ever since, the U.S. military has advanced significantly in remote targeted killings, and the drone has become notably popular. These aircrafts are used primarily to spy and eventually kill an individual without having to put army boots down on surrounding ground. Drones are especially important for military missions that are deemed too dangerous for military soldiers to physically be there (Tice). The use of a drone can “get the job done” without having to be concerned with the common death and trauma of American soldiers, that ground combaters encounter daily. Drones are unmanned machines that fly with the help of lithium-polymer batteries, and give information to the drone pilot through attached sensors (Tice). These sensors have the ability to measure the distance and speed of the target, which allows the drone pilot to make an accurate hit on the victim (Tice). Missiles, that are secured onto the drone, are prompted to launch when the drone pilot deems the time is appropriate. Although this newly invented technology greatly assists the United States military in fighting war and potentially preventing danger, I believe that unmanned drones are causing more harm for our future warfare. The use of remotely-controlled aircrafts, in warfare, profoundly desensitizes the drone pilots, to the terrors of war because it makes killing too easy and ultimately
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.
Like much of today’s technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles attribute their creation to the military. The idea of using unmanned aircraft has long been a dream for the military -- scouting planes without any casualties to report should something go wrong, air strikes with only time and money to lose, and the ability to wage war without losing a single life. Well the third one may perhaps not be realistic – as Afghanistan has shown, lack of ground troops leaves certain entities unchecked.1 However, it may be argued that “they represent a significant step toward the eventual automation of the battlefield—one in which teleoperated or robotic systems replace many soldiers.”2 Either way, these machines do create a less expensive and more dispensable alternative to conventional air battles. This creates obvious moral issues, as the country with such technology is no longer as tentative to engage in armed combat.
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).
Those in favor of drones argue that drones have many advantages compared with other military weapons in denying terrorists. First, drones are able to most accurately hit their intended targets, thus they help prevent unintended deaths of noncombatants . Drones allow the operator to study his or her targets carefully instead of reacting in the heat of the moment, making strikes more discriminating. The Long War Journal tracked the performance of U.S drones in Pakistan, and the report showed that civilian casualties resulted from drones only counted as 6% of overall fatalities. This number shows that drones kill a lower ratio of civilians to combatants than we have seen in any wars in which other weapons were used. Second, drones reduce risk of their own operators and prevent the...
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...
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.
Artificially intelligent drones are becoming more common as decades pass by and will eventually be tested for tactical fighters, but drones are nowhere near to having the human cognition; therefore, a fighter pilot is more dependable than an autonomous drone being in control of destructive weapons. A drone is an autonomous unmanned machine that can operate by itself without human control. Researchers are currently working on replacing human fighter pilots in the military with drones that can operate on their own. Although this idea of replacement may sound fantastic, there are many problems with drones and factors that make a human operating a fighter jet more reliable than a drone operating a fighter jet. A few of these problems with drones
Since the beginning of warfare, war is fought by multiple fronts including land, money, support, but most of all the weapons used in the war. Weapons have slowly developed over time and became increasingly deadly and efficient to overwhelm and defeat the opponent. Weapons have developed from stones to swords to explosives and guns. In addition, wars are no longer just fought on land but in the sea, and sky also, which has led to the birth of even more deadly weapons. Now, after thousands of years of bloodshed, a new and much more dangerous tool of destruction has appeared in the midst of a world at war, drones.
Drones are also known as UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles. They have two ways of being controlled. The first way is for a satellite and some kind of AI (artificial intelligence) that has a mission but is able to make alterations to the job it was sent out to do. The drone could be controlled by a human using satellites and cameras on the drone to pilot it to its destination as well. The human could pilot one from a remote control and use their sight of the drone for steering as well.