TA1LGUNN3R wrote:Oh I'm totally in agreement with you there. I find the use of drone strikes or drones in particular repellant. If you have to enforce your will onto a technologically and economically inferior culture by sending advanced robots with killing capacity to them, then perhaps we should inspect what the reasons are.
Funny story, I actually got into a huge argument with my dad a few years back over this very issue. I called the drones repugnant and those who supported them morally bankrupt (I was a bit more fiery then). He did exactly as you said, tried to justify them through the benefit to American soldiers and whatnot, never mind that innocents lost their lives. "The cost of war."
One main problem with drone strikes is that they reduce the price for war. There's no dead US soldiers, so there's hardly any chance of a backlash from public opinion. With a decreased cost in war, then the USG will simply engage in more wars on a more frequent basis.
That wouldn't be too bad if the program was effective--in that it would reduce/end terrorism, but given the civilian casualties and the numerous opportunities for media companies to sensationalize the US terrorism to sympathetic audiences, then I highly doubt drone strikes will be ineffective in reducing (contra American/Western) terrorism.
And since the costs of American weapons are externalized (i.e. not felt by US foreign policymakers and politicians, but rather taxpayers), then they'll continue supplying and warring at quantities beyond necessary. Eventually, we'll get another backlash from some terrorist group, which the USG will react to by bombing them (see: Afghanistan 1980s to today). It's an endless cycle of stupid interventionism, and unfortunately since it's profitable for politicians and bureaucrats to maintain this status quo, then the self-serving agenda will continue--until of course people start thinking critically and advocate for more libertarian policies (which may not happen).