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In reply to the discussion: An Apache helicopter fires a Hellfire missile. A drone fires a Hellfire missile. (w/ edit) [View all]leveymg
(36,418 posts)49. I would argue that never before has assassination been so cheap, easy and seemingly safe.
Drones are no doubt a technological step, rather than a giant leap. The rifle shot from a concealed position a thousand yards away is no doubt much easier than the assassin's dagger, but the sniper still puts himself in some jeopardy. The anonymous drone operator - faces no personal hazard at all, even less than the politician who signs the kill list drawn up by the intel bureaucrat.
It's become too easy to kill enemies to have any honor as an act of war, and that will also have its own blowback. I've always thought that the party that can claim the moral high-ground and the judgment of history wins the war, no matter who wins the battles.
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An Apache helicopter fires a Hellfire missile. A drone fires a Hellfire missile. (w/ edit) [View all]
WilliamPitt
Feb 2013
OP
I keep thinking about a scene from MASH-- a pilot is talking to hawkeye, bragging about what
niyad
Feb 2013
#5
No difference. And, those that fire the missiles should be held accountable in a court of law.
Tierra_y_Libertad
Feb 2013
#6
The drone is cheaper and more expendable, and all the more likely to be overused and abused.
leveymg
Feb 2013
#11
I would argue that never before has assassination been so cheap, easy and seemingly safe.
leveymg
Feb 2013
#49
The only thing I can think of is that no US pilot is placed in harm's way when ...
11 Bravo
Feb 2013
#12
and they never, EVER, have to come face to face with the carnage they have engendered.
niyad
Feb 2013
#41
Our enemies (and we are making more by the day) can far more easily duplicate drones than Apaches
Fumesucker
Feb 2013
#17
maybe if we actually had to send real people, we would be a damned sight more careful about
niyad
Feb 2013
#43
The only difference between the two weapon systems is that one is operated remotely....
OldDem2012
Feb 2013
#26
I would think a drone "pilot" could see a lot more than a pilot flying a plane
Jersey Devil
Feb 2013
#28
The pilot doesn't shoot based on witnessing "crimes" in progress. The pilot shoots
Luminous Animal
Feb 2013
#38
thank you. would you consider reposting this as its own thread so it can be rec'd?
niyad
Feb 2013
#45
I refuse to accept the necessity of The War on Terror, so I am for neither.
mikeytherat
Feb 2013
#31
It's about secret kill lists and turning the entire planet into a battlefield
whatchamacallit
Feb 2013
#34
The latest argument r.e. drones doesn't center on drones v. helicopters
DisgustipatedinCA
Feb 2013
#44