Barack Obama: Drone Warrior

http://www.washingtonpost.com ^ | 5.31.12 | Charles Krauthammer

[TigersEye]

"We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly." - Bill Maher

Where is Bill Maher now? Giving $1 million dollars to the Drone Warrior.

[Sherman Logan]

Most Americans don't have the stomach to fight the way fighting has to be done, so we compromise, and turn into mouse-clicking assassins.

Strikes me this has a good deal in common with those who like to eat meat but aren't willing to kill animals themselves.

I wonder to what extent the apparently growing hatred of America has to do with this element of asymmetrical warfare.

You know, I fully understand the POV of those who think we should always kill our enemies by the most efficient method, the one that is least dangerous to our own troops.

But I still can't help thinking there is something dehumanizing about a "warrior" who slaughters his enemies in Yemen while sitting in his bedroom in his pjs, with no risk at all to himself.

[Sherman Logan]

Instead, we place some of them in the general population and let them be killed by the criminals. No coursge to say “YOu did wrong and deserve to die and as a people we will execute you.”

Don't forget our unwillingness to kill in a humane way those we think are undeserving of continued life.

Instead we starve and dehydrate them to death, pretending we aren't killing them, they're dying a natural death.

[ctdonath2]

There is something immoral about smiting an enemy who can’t hit back.

1. They're an enemy BECAUSE they can hit and have every intention of doing so.

2. "Fair fight" only matters to those for whom survival is not paramount. Those for whom survival is not paramount won't survive.

3. You miss the point of "asymmetric warfare": no matter how technologically advanced you are vs. how primitive your enemy is, he CAN hit you (or someone you value with your life). Even if it means a plane ticket and a rock.

[Chickensoup]

Don’t forget our unwillingness to kill in a humane way those we think are undeserving of continued life.

Instead we starve and dehydrate them to death, pretending we aren’t killing them, they’re dying a natural death.

______________________

Like abortion, we lie.