Drones In Pakistan

This program does not exist, and Pakistan does not help it

Drones in Pakistan: Out Of The Blue -- The Economist

A growing controversy over the use of unmanned aerial strikes.

ONE day in March an American drone circled above Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, zeroed in on a gathering of village men, some of whom were armed, and unleashed three missiles in quick succession. It turned out to be a meeting to settle a dispute over a chromite mine. Most of the 40 or so killed were civilians, according to accounts, though a dozen Taliban also died in the attack, including a local commander, Sherabat Khan. The Taliban nowadays often adjudicate quarrels in the tribal areas, a wild buffer zone that runs along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

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My Comment: Because there are no other viable options (short of sending ground forces into Pakistan), this is the best bet that we have so far.

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Is Using Drones In Warfare Ethical?

The Ethics Of Warfare: Drones And The Man -- The Economist

Although it raises difficult questions, the use of drones does not contravene the rules of war.

THE use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, as the armed forces prefer to call them, is growing. Drones have become today’s weapon of choice in counter-terrorism. And over the next 40 years or so, they are expected largely to replace piloted aircraft. In nine years the Pentagon has increased its drone fleet 13-fold and the generals are spending at least $5 billion a year adding to it. The frequency of drone strikes on al-Qaeda and other terrorists that lurk in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has risen under Barack Obama to one every four days, compared with one every 40 during George Bush’s presidency. In Libya NATO commanders turned to drones when their fast jets failed to find and hit Muammar Qaddafi’s mobile rocket launchers.

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My Comment: Drones are just like any other new weapon system that has been developed. If it is an effective killing machine ... it will built and stocked into the armory .... and damn the ethics of it. And drones .... lets face it .... they have been very effective.

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