We've discussed the justification for using controversial weapons in war, from the atomic bomb to Agent Orange. The latest debate in this unending cycle involves the use of unmanned drones to carry out attacks and assassinations. Watch the video and read the short article that accompanies it:
Are US drones terrorising civilians? - Inside Story Americas - Al Jazeera English
Then post a comment to this posting answering the following questions:
Is the use of drones to assassinate terrorist targets an acceptable tactic? Why or why not?
Also, what fears and concerns could be caused by the increasing use of drones? (Think about how the atomic bomb led to fears of nuclear war.)
Finally, you must respond to a classmates' posting, replying thoughtfully to their opinion and ideas, not simply agreeing or disagreeing.
I do believe the use of drones to assassinate terrorist target an acceptable tactic because if we let are guard down even for a little bit we will never know if they will you use it and take advantage if it and we have to be prepare. The fears and concern could be bye children dying, and adults as well.-Aisha Olemba
ReplyDeleteEven if we don't let our guard down there's still that possibility of them attacking us with it, even more because they may become fed up with us and decide to do something about it. But yes, in either case we must be prepared for anything.
DeleteI don't believe the use of drones to assassinate terrorist target is an acceptable tactic because it is killing way to many people. The fears and concern that could be caused by the use of drones increasing is that people will not wont to come out of their homes. people will start doing crazy things.~Svetlana Mack
ReplyDeleteI think that using drones to assassinate terrorist is not the right thing to do. When a drone is sent to a country there is a big explosion, that kills hundreds of people. I think that one big criminal is not worth hundreds of people. Because of this certain people get scared to even step outside.
ReplyDeleteI believe that using drones to kill terrorists in other countries such as Pakistan is not a acceptable tactic. I think this because in the process you are not only killing the terrorists you may also be killing hundreds of innocent civilians. Some concerns could be that the enemy could also develop this technology so then it becomes the atomic bomb situation all over again; where countries are paranoid because they don't know when an attack could happen or what the consequences are. Also, you could ask yourself would the war ever be won, as long as you have drones the war could be endless. - Neveen Rizkallah
ReplyDeleteI believe that the use of drones to assassinate terrorist targets is not an acceptable tactic. The reason is many civilians have been killed and injured because of its explosion not just hitting one target it can harm anything else near the explosion range. Also a report showed credible figures that form 474 to 881 civilians killed by drones in June 2004 and September 2012 in Pakistan only. Another is killed by drone strikes in Pakistan, at least 176 were reported that there were that many children killed by the strikes and the US has to be held acceptable of its actions which we are not doing we need to take that action very high standards. The fears and concerns that could be caused by the increasing use of drones is it could start a war with Pakistan and Afghanistan, attacking NATO going across the border to do so. Also that they say "initially used for counter-terrorism has now become a counter-insurgency tool." and they will attack us back with the same weapon to hurt the US and give other countries an idea for a lethal force attacking the United States with the same power of the force into a war. / Dimitri Sourvinos
ReplyDeleteI do not think that using the drones to kill one person, (terrorist) should not be handled that way that it was. Killing innocent civilians that are minding their own selves are being killed for someone else's wrong doings. If this is the way the find the terrorist, we may end up in war. - Parissima Hormozdi
ReplyDeleteI quite agree. A person should not be killed for the wrong doing of another. We all learn this rudimentary lesson when we are very young by our parents, "It is wrong to have the innocent person punished." Even the justice system is made to follow this basic moral. - Eliana Murrell
DeleteUsing drones to kill terrorist is not an effective way. Yeah, it may just get the job done, but at what cost. The ratio of innocent civilians casualties should not be more than the amount of terrorists killed. If the U.S. keeps up the use of the drones the people of Pakistan could very easily retaliate if fed up enough and then we would have another possible war to deal with.
ReplyDelete~Jesika Washington
I agree that the ratio of innocents killed shouldn't be greater than the amount of terrorists, because the U.S. would be more known as a threat to the Pakistanis because of this incident. I also agree that the U.S. should stop the use of drones, unless the U.S. actually using manned-controlled drones, so there is less killing of civilians.
DeleteI think the use of drones to kill terrorists in other countries is not an acceptable tactic. Reports say that over 3000 Pakistanis were killed by drones strikes, and about 200 of the civilians killed were children. Also, the Pew Research Center found in a recent poll that 74% of Pakistanis say that the U.S. is an enemy. There can be some concerns and fears like the number of civilian kills could continually increase like what happened with the nuclear bomb, where many civilians were killed. Also, if using the drones continue, foreigners could eventually make this technology and then use them to attack the U.S. ~Sam Cohen
ReplyDeleteI agree that killing the innocent children 200 out of 3000 is a huge amount that these kids had no meaning or level of involvement in the attacks so it was not there fault to blame for the attack. Also the U.S is an enemy but the other countries could use it against use then they would become an enemy hurting the United States and this could start another world war like the nuclear bombs has caused. /Dimitri Sourvinos
DeleteWhether the use of drones to assassinate terrorist targets is an acceptable tactic or not, it really depends on the situation. Unless the U.S. Military has the enough evidence and information to order an attack on terrorist threats, I agree with them with the exception that none innocent person is going to get involved and result harmed or even dead. Clearly this is not the situation. Although, the US government rarely acknowledges this, there is significant evidence that US drone strikes have injured and killed civilians. Why would the US use weapons that are out of their control? We all remember the disastrous events of World War II when the United States decided to create the atomic bomb and dropped them in Japan. Then these events created even more tensions between the Soviet Union and the United Sates. Does this sound similiar to you? The developing and use of drones would somehow end up in a worlwide concern about a new technological war. That's why I believe the US should not be playing with people's life with "toys", let the children play. By Antony Gonzalez Period 1
ReplyDeleteWhen other countries have their own drones they can do what the U.S has been doing to them. As the U.S uses drones to protect their people from terrorists the other countries can claim that the U.S is the terrorist since the U.S kills innocent people in their countries. Other countries, after developing the same type of drones, can also use them on the U.S to protect their people from terrorists who kill innocent people. The U.S can not call itself the "good guy" if it does the same things as a terrorist would. Even before drones during the Vietnam war the U.S killed innocent people in the My Lai massacre and claimed to be the "good guys" spreading democracy. In the end it comes to how you look at it.~ Hassan Tariq
DeleteI dont think using drones to the kill terrorists is not a right thing. I dont think its right because its not safe for the other people around there that are also being effected by this.
ReplyDeleteYea your right but its the safety of are country. I know its not right and were being selfish but when it comes down to your life vs there you will pick your own and they would do the same they don't care about us just like we truly don't care about them. But if they really cared about there people they would have stopped by now. So think about it. Would you rather die or know your safe my killing the enemy. - Aisha Olemba
DeleteI think that it was okay to use drones to kill the terrorist because there was no other way in getting them and not alot of people were harmed anyways
ReplyDeleteI belive drones could be used if they were more accurate at killing there target. They should not be used if they are killing innocents and civilians. One major reason for using a drone is accuracy. If they found a way to kill only who they wanted to kill or at least limit the back fire then maybe deones would be acceptable.
DeleteI disagree because how is nearly three thousand people not a lot of people harmed. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly the same amount of people. Why is it acceptable for us to terrorize them as they did to us? Why do we think were the only terrorists? That much damage just to kill someone is completely ridiculous.
DeleteI agree with you. We are no better than terroists if we do the same to them as they did to us.
DeleteI disagree with the statement that the united states is no better then terrorists. The attacks on September 11 was a horrible hateful crime that occurred randomly and killed 10,000 people or more. The united states did not attack the middle east , but was attacked by Al Qaeda. As a result we went to war to assure and restore safety to our nation at that time and for the future. So are we better then them ? No, because all men were created equally and will die equally , but we were justified.
Delete~Cindy Cherichel~
its not a usefull tactics its a machine it can easly malfunction and it not only killing the people its so pose to but its also killing civilians such as children and it can it can make a mistake you can be lowering the population of a country trow the use of drones and it can creat fear in the area its bieng used for and it dangeruois to many inocent people would be killed by mistake so in conclusion drones should not be use as soldiers they make mistakes and they can accidently kill the wrong person. marie-yolande fanouvi
ReplyDeleteI understand the reason why the U.S used the drone. to locate and destroy terroists. But, with the amount of deaths of civilians, is it worth it? Not all civilians are terroists and it's sad that the majority of deaths were children. Now Pakistan views America as an enemy which could be dangerous for the U.S.
ReplyDeletei agree 100% with you and it would be dangerous for the US since we are being viewed as the bad guy. Especially now a days when technology is very advanced and other countries can make there own drones against us. - Juliette Torres
DeleteThe use of drones to assassinate terrorist is not an acceptable tactic because its not only targeting the terrorist but its targeting civilians. If the U.S. wants to target civilians too it only makes us look like hypocrites because we have done things to other countries for humanitarian because leaders of countries are treating there people wrong but yet we are going to another country to kill a threat to the U.S. but take civilians down with the threat. If the U.S. Keeps using drones to take down terrorist and taking civilians it would only make the U.S. A hated country and make us loose allies. It would make countries not turn to the U.S. anymore because they know how we could react.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Funes
The use of drones to assassinate terrorist targets is not an acceptable tactic because US drone strikes have injured and killed many innocent civilians when in reality, these civilians aren't even the targets and they aren't a threat to the United States. The use of drones does not only harm people physically, but it's left psychological trauma and has had negative social and economic impacts on people's daily lives. The strikes are also causing harm to US national security. Fears and concerns that could be caused by the increasing use of drones is fearing that there will be more attacks and another war may begin. The strikes have caused hostility toward the United States which can motivate other countries to begin violent attacks on US targets. It may also make other countries want to use drones.
ReplyDelete-Stacey Cabrera
Drones are killing innocent people, as you said. I thought your point about it being psychologically traumatic was interesting and very true. I can't imagine how growing up in that sort of environment would be like as a child.
Delete~Ocean Tyler
Although the use of drones allows the U.S to assassinate terrorist targets, it is not by any means a justified tactic. This statement by the President, "Actually drone attacks have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties” expresses the United States’ concern about anyone other than themselves. To understand how brutal and inhumane the use of drones is people need to picture themselves in the victims’ shoes. Just imagine having a terrorist nearby you who does not harm you but another country decides that only a couple of civilians will die so using a drone to assassinate the terrorist is worth the death toll. Would you want to be killed as if your life has no value? Even if you are not involved but one of your loved ones is, could you bear the pain? If someone was ever to use a drone on the U.S to kill a terrorist and kill a couple of Americans in the process, the U.S would immediately go to war with that country. The U.S being a “super-power” allows them to kill innocent civilians without those countries declaring war on the U.S. So the U.S is basically a bully to the rest of the world. The purpose to assassinate terrorists is to protect the people but it does not help if you kill both the people and the terrorists. The increasing use of drones could back-fire on the U.S as at some point a country or all the countries the U.S has used drones on are going to get fed up and strike back. One drone is all it would take to put the whole country at the same situation as the fear of a nuclear war. Think about having a fear that you could be killed any moment, that’s what people in other countries have to go through today. If you still think the use of drones is justified you are saying that you are ready to get killed at any moment which is to protect you from terrorists. ~Hassan Tariq
ReplyDeleteI think that the use of drones isn't an acceptable tactic. like they said in the article, 100+ children have been killed in the unmanned attacks. also when they polled the Pakistani people, more that 50% of them consider the US as an enemy. since most of them think of us as the enemy, we should be cautious and prepared for a terrorist attack. not from al-Qaeda, but the Pakistani people.
ReplyDelete-Vida fye
The use of drones to assassinate terrorist targets is an unacceptable and inhumane tactic to ridding the world of terrorists. Not only are humans killing others humans for terrorizing, thus stooping just as low, but the person also ends up inflicting more harm on innocent civilians, uninvolved or disconnected from the terrorists in any way. Although the US is trying to get rid of terrorists, drone warfare is not the solution. According to "Are US drones terrorizing civilians?", the US has killed more than 474 ,possibly over 800, Pakistanis with drones between 2004 an 2012. This could be more than the terrorists kill themselves. Many Pakistani civilians also live with psychological traumas from witnessing the deaths of their friends and loved ones and they develop hostility towards the US. The use of unmanned weapons is parallel to the atomic bomb or nuclear warfare where fear can lead to enemy nations on the brink of destroying each other. - Eliana Murrell
ReplyDeletei agree, the U.s. shouldn't be killing innocent people this does end up having people think about how their loved ones getting killed when they have nothing to do with it. Not everyone should be suffering through the killings.
Delete-Aden Alemgena
I think that the use of the drones is a good idea to find terrorist and it's helping the US because it could prevent an attack on our country but it's also harming innocent people and children. Which makes me question if it's worth it because now most of the Pakistanis are thinking that the US is the bad guy . I think the drones are a good idea but it's not worth it if we are putting innocent peoples lives at risk. It's also not worth it because we are being seen as the enemy - Juliette Torres
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that if drones were used to only help find terrorists and not cause any damage, then they would be a good idea , but they are not helping the US in that if the US uses drones, other countries will want to attack our country even more so it wouldn't really prevent an attack. I agree that its harming way too many people and I find it unnecessary.
DeleteAntony brought up a great point in comparing this to the atomic bomb. We may have been the first to develop that technology, but we were not the last. What happens when other countries (particularly our enemies) have their own drones?
ReplyDeleteThen we will have to truly way the cost of the "enemies" lives to the cost of ours. The moment they have their own drones to use against us is the very moment we will have regretted holding back on taking out the enemy because of civilian lives. What people fail to realize is that even though it is wrong to kill innocent people without knowingly doing it they are potentially putting their own lives at risk against such a violent and unpredictable enemy. So, yes the usage of drones is a great idea in terms of getting them before they get us.
Delete-Devin McCoy
Though this is late i still feel the need to do the assignment. The united states government throughout history has countlessly shown that the death of civilians during war or attacks are inevitable and are a necessary part of war. The united states has been at war for almost 13 years and knows one of the tactics of terrorist groups throughout the middle east involves blending in with everyday regular citizens. Having this knowledge should show united states that if person can barely tell the difference between a enemy soldier and a citizen then a machine surely cannot do the job. Though a drone may make the mission go swifter we should not uses a system that works only at the loss of innocent lives.
ReplyDelete~ Cindy Cherichel~
I do not think drones are an acceptable tactic. Drones kill and harm innocent people. There is no reason in the world why harming an innocent soul is acceptable. Also, according to the article, other countries are aware of drones. They would like to obtain this technology. And then all first world countries will have drones, before you know it it's an intensified power game just like it always is. And then the US or Russia will develop something even more powerful and there will be a domino effect. It's all just show of power.
ReplyDelete~Ocean Tyler
I think that Ocean is right because the tactic wsasnt that fair and that people were killing innocent people asnd russia will become more powerful and try to take over.
DeleteI think that drone warfare is an acceptable tactic, but the U.S. needs to refine its use of drones to help reduce civilian deaths. In any situation in which the U.S. is attempting to police another country, there will be civilian deaths. The only real question is of how many casualties there are. I think that the U.S. could take better measures to reduce these casualties, but other than that, drone warfare is a perfectly acceptable tactic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. If the U.S. knows a way to target only one person or group, they should use it. Also, with any situation like this, there are going to being more casualties than intended. Just like how in WW2, many innocent citizens were killed when the U.S. bombed a city that they thought Hitler was hiding in.
Delete-Samantha Foreman
Drone warfare might cause less casualties, but its still intolerable. Innocents don't deserve to die for someone else's actions.
DeleteFor the US to fix the drones, they have to test it. The drones will most likely still kill innocent civilians, more civilians than terrorists. Until the drones stop being criminal, I don't think the drones are acceptable.-Nikki Le
DeleteI think that the drone warefare wasn't an acceptable tactic because we were killing innocent people and the other countries didnt even know what was going on. Its saying that Russia will become more powerful
ReplyDeleteThe tactic was acceptable in certain aspects. Yes, it was eliminating terrorists, but it also killed many innocent civilians. Overall, it was not acceptable. It wasnt because if the president had to lie about the number of cassualties, something has to be wrong. A concern that comes out of this tactic is that what if a terrorist could disarm it or re-trace it and then use it against us.
ReplyDelete-Samantha Foreman
The u.s drones are terrorising civilians even though it kills some of the terrorists in Pakistan it's also killing innocent people like the children that don't really have anything to do with the killings. Also since the Pakistanis are seeing the u.s. as more of an enemy they could end up coming back to america and attack even worse then before.
ReplyDelete-Aden Alemgena
Even though it killed some of the terrorists it was still wrong to attack the innocent for no reason just because they wanted certain group of people killed
DeleteIn my opinion the use of drones is uncivil and unacceptable. To continue using drones is stupid knowing the amount of casualties they have caused among the civilians. We might as well use a nuclear bomb on them too if were going to continue using drones. Not saying that we should, but i mean what difference is there?(minus the fact that there's less deaths) We're still killing innocent people for something they have no involvement with. And with all these casualties, Pakistanis will see us as an enemy, and frankly they have a right to, because we're well aware of what were doing, yet we continue doing just that. But this whole scandal would be less dramatic if we could just be more precise. If we could be more precise, i'd agree to the fact that drones are an acceptable tactic.
ReplyDeleteI think that the drone warefare was unacceptable because they were killing innocent people. The attacks were for certain people, not to target the innocent people that had nothing to do with it -Kamara N
ReplyDeleteI believe that drone warfare is an intolerable tactic. It kills innocent people who have no involvement with anything. The increasing use of drones could cause innocent people to live in fear and they don't deserve that.
ReplyDeleteThe use of drones to kill terrorists might sound like a good idea but is it accurate? Like said in the article, many innocent civilians were killed. If we increase the use of drones, it's most likely that more civilians would be killed. Because we are killing many innocent people, that is going to anger them into not being our allie. If they are our enemy, there's a chance of wars happening in the future. The atomic bomb made people go against war because of the amounts of deaths and damaged. The drones are hunting down many people as well and sooner or later they might explode and cause damaged. -Nikki Le
ReplyDelete