Before completing the readings for
this week I thought drones were such a positive addition to the United States
military. After the readings, I still believe drones are beneficial, however, I
think they are being used to carelessly. In the article, Do Drones Undermine Democracy?, Peter Singer mentions how America
doesn’t seem to analyze risk in drone warfare. I agree that society treats
drone warfare differently, but why? I rarely see stories on the news about
drone attacks or drones being shot down. Maybe the reason I did not read about
the Navy helicopter drone being shot down is because reporters don’t look at it
as important since no American lives were lost. Maybe society just views drones
as a piece of equipment, which is why it isn’t “tragic” when one, gets shot down.
It is true drones are just a tool, a tool that can be misused. The Authorized
Use of Military Force, AUMF, says that “The President is authorized to use all
necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or
persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist
attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or
persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against
the United States by such nations, organization or persons.” This basically
states that the president can use/allow lethal force anywhere on the planet,
and the president uses drones to execute people. In 2012, there are few
restrictions on the use of drones. Why is this? I don’t know why the president
has the power to administer deadly force anywhere on the planet, and why does
it matter if that force is from drones or soldiers? Drones are used to benefit America;
however, there need to be more restrictions on the assaults they carry out. I
don’t think a noncombatant civilian dying by a drone is any more/less tragic
than one getting killed by a soldier. I agree that drones do not make war any
more likely, but I do believe since they evolve war as we know it we need to
make laws that regulate their use.
Regulations need to be in place, but we must remember that many military operations in the United States war on terror will go undocumented. That being said, it's hard to fully understand what is happening until it's all over.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cody that there should be laws in place to regulate the use of drones by the President. However, it is a difficult question to actually go about regulation. This is especially difficult due to the lack of knowledge that U.S. citizens have on the issue. In order for regulations to be enacted the American people themselves must stand up and demonstrate that they consider this to be an issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the president currently holds too much power. As i stated in my post, I think there needs to be some sort of checks and balances system ensuring that drone strikes are only being used in crucial situations. It will be interesting to see if congress eventually begins voicing concerns about the ease in which the president can request a drone strike.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it will be difficult to assign regulations on drone usage, but it needs to be done. Brandon i completely agree that there does need to be a checks and balances system to make sure drones are being used when necessary, and not too freely.
ReplyDelete