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The Pros And Cons Of The US Drone Program

1913 Words8 Pages

The argument defending the U.S. drone program as a legal instrument is centered on the claims found in jus in bello. There are two relevant aspects of war laws, distinction and proportionality. Both principles are developed in the just war tradition, offering a philosophic and ethical guideline for the goals and conducts of war. The principle of distinction prohibits direct attacks on the civilian population; forcing the attacker to differentiate between those directly between hostiles and civilians.
[…] the definition of collateral damage deserves attention in the context of the distinction principle. In discussions of UAVs and collateral damage, a disconcerting ambiguity has surfaced in […] legal briefings, military manuals, and […] drone operators. […] The first definition is a fatal one: collateral …show more content…

“Drone warfare makes fighting […] wars easier […], but it will also facilitate the prosecution of unjust wars”(Kaag 115), leading the confusion of just and unjust wars. A detailed psychological study in 2011 by the Pentagon showed that nearly 30% of drone pilots experienced “burnout,” a term the military uses when referring to an existential crisis. The disassociation and distance is more troubling to the older drone operators who are seasoned pilots in comparison to younger operators who may never have been trained as pilots. For the younger generation, piloting drones is equivalent to a playstation game; today technology shields soldiers from harm while bringing them closer to their targets by means of surveillance. The move to automate weaponry has removed the human element of moral decision making from war, thereby erasing the ethical responsibility that the military was once faced with. Operators suffer from ‘clinical distress’: anxiety, depression or stress sever enough o affect an operator’s performance when on the job or in their family

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In Suzy Killmister’s article, in the Journal of Applied Philosophy titled “Remote Weaponry: The Ethical Implications”, she delves into the complications ethically behind the newest technology, Micro Air Vehicles or “WASPS”. She defines these vehicles as “autonomous weaponry capable of selecting, pursuing, and destroying targets without the necessity for

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Examples Of Control In The Book 1984 By George Orwell

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Drones look like little remote control helicopters but with cameras in them. Some people fly these just for fun, but sometimes they can be used in the military. However, they have been seen to be becoming an invasion of privacy. Recently, there was a Kentucky man who shot down a drone that was hovering over the houses in his neighborhoods. In an article, he was asked and interviewed about the situation and said, “...To me, it was the same as trespassing”(Hawkins).

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Is Obama's Drone War Moral? By Matt Peterson

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Summary Of Benjamin's Book 'Medea'

397 Words | 2 Pages

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569 Words | 3 Pages

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Friedersdorf's Persuasive Speech Summary

657 Words | 3 Pages

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