Drones compared to boots on the ground and civilian deaths

[Texashiker]

Serious question here, drone strikes kill innocent children, but seal team six does not complete its mission because there were children?

What gives?

Why is it ok for a drone operator to kill children, but not boots on the ground?

Seal team six cancels mission because of children - http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...-children-realized-couldnt/?intcmp=latestnews

176 children killed by drones - http://www.policymic.com/articles/2...es-have-killed-176-children-in-pakistan-alone

 

[MiniDoom]

because it's a fluff story?

 

[SaurusX]

Drones make it impersonal when you're shooting missiles from thousands of miles away. It's all on a video monitor.

Being on the ground and looking through a scope works a tad differently on the morals.

 

[unokitty]

Serious question here, drone strikes kill innocent children, but seal team six does not complete its mission because there were children?

What gives?

Why is it ok for a drone operator to kill children, but not boots on the ground?

Seal team six cancels mission because of children - http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...-children-realized-couldnt/?intcmp=latestnews

176 children killed by drones - http://www.policymic.com/articles/2...es-have-killed-176-children-in-pakistan-alone

Anyone that believes anything written into a government press release, or a 'news' article based on a press release is naive.

The reporter that wrote that story never talked with the Seals. The PR agent that wrote the press release never talked with the Seals.

It's called spin or disinformation or whatever...

Uno

 

[Anarchist420]

I don't know, but the one thing I liked about Romney was that he was 100% up front about the fact that there would be more boots on the ground everywhere... he was hypertestosteronal as some would say.

Conversely, I can't stand this cloak and dagger shit Obama has always done... he attacks like a pussy out of the darkness.

 

[mikeymikec]

@ Anarchist420

Drone strikes were en vogue during GWB's presidency. As I understand it, the use of drone strikes is lessening under Obama's presidency.

---

The two things that scare me most regarding the US's use of drones are that they don't consider it an act of war because it doesn't involve sending in troops (to test this theory, perhaps they should do a drone strike in a major EU country, Russia or China?), and also (allegedly), the government considers any male casualty of military-service age in the strike area as a militant.

 

[SaurusX]

@ Anarchist420

Drone strikes were en vogue during GWB's presidency. As I understand it, the use of drone strikes is lessening under Obama's presidency.

You understand wrong. There's a reason Obama's nickname is the Drone Ranger.

 

[MiniDoom]

@ Anarchist420

Drone strikes were en vogue during GWB's presidency. As I understand it, the use of drone strikes is lessening under Obama's presidency.

---

The two things that scare me most regarding the US's use of drones are that they don't consider it an act of war because it doesn't involve sending in troops (to test this theory, perhaps they should do a drone strike in a major EU country, Russia or China?), and also (allegedly), the government considers any male casualty of military-service age in the strike area as a militant.

HA! Good one...

 

[MiniDoom]

...

 

[mikeymikec]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan#Statistics

Fair enough. I read the claim somewhere, and as the article seemed to be reasonably balanced I didn't doubt it.

 

[Scotteq]

Just a minute....

SEALs are six feet tall... Children are three feet tall...

The issue is what, exactly?

 

[Newbian]

Check out the damage a explosion does vs a bullet.

Also a missile places no humans in harms way except where it's landing.

 

[BoberFett]

You understand wrong. There's a reason Obama's nickname is the Drone Ranger.

Such is the delusion of Obama's taint-sniffers. He has a lot of people convinced that he's better than the Republicans.

 

[Abraxas]

Such is the delusion of Obama's taint-sniffers. He has a lot of people convinced that he's better than the Republicans.

Because in most ways he is. That is the proplem with the right and their delusions about the left, you assume because we think Obama is better than the Right we think he is good. No, he is better than the right because the Tea Party and other fanatics running the Republican party keep lowering the bar like they are in a race to the center of the Earth. Your party has become a charicature of itself, the kind of thing that twenty years ago people making fun of Republicans would have done to exagerate for comedic effect. Even Colbert has trouble at times finding a more ludicrous position than the ones Republicans are actually taking.

No, I will unequivocably say Obama is crap but the alternative is so much worse.

 

[HOSED]

Suppose the head of a Mexican Drug Cartel is found in the US. I wonder what the reaction would be if the Mexican Government sent a drone over here & blasted the building the criminal was in but innocent Americans were also killed.
I bring this up as a comparison to the US initiated drone strike in Yemen late last year that killed 13.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Suppose the head of a Mexican Drug Cartel is found in the US. I wonder what the reaction would be if the Mexican Government sent a drone over here & blasted the building the criminal was in but innocent Americans were also killed.
I bring this up as a comparison to the US initiated drone strike in Yemen late last year that killed 13.

Well you leave out of your comparison that the Yemeni government approves the strikes.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/world/n...bec2ae-0a56-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html

 

[MongGrel]

Because in most ways he is. That is the proplem with the right and their delusions about the left, you assume because we think Obama is better than the Right we think he is good. No, he is better than the right because the Tea Party and other fanatics running the Republican party keep lowering the bar like they are in a race to the center of the Earth. Your party has become a charicature of itself, the kind of thing that twenty years ago people making fun of Republicans would have done to exagerate for comedic effect. Even Colbert has trouble at times finding a more ludicrous position than the ones Republicans are actually taking.

No, I will unequivocably say Obama is crap but the alternative is so much worse.

+1

anything after that is a bunch of blah blah blah.

 

[HOSED]

Well you leave out of your comparison that the Yemeni government approves the strikes.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/world/n...bec2ae-0a56-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html

Good point but I would venture a guess the 630 million we have bestowed upon this county could be a factor here http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/2014/222781.htm

 

[Fern]

Suppose the head of a Mexican Drug Cartel is found in the US. I wonder what the reaction would be if the Mexican Government sent a drone over here & blasted the building the criminal was in but innocent Americans were also killed.
I bring this up as a comparison to the US initiated drone strike in Yemen late last year that killed 13.

Umm... I'm pretty sure the Mexican govt could just pick up the phone and we'd arrest him for them.

Fern

 

[Brovane]

 

[Matt1970]

Such is the delusion of Obama's taint-sniffers. He has a lot of people convinced that he's better than the Republicans.

Right on queue

Because in most ways he is. That is the proplem with the right and their delusions about the left, you assume because we think Obama is better than the Right we think he is good. No, he is better than the right because the Tea Party and other fanatics running the Republican party keep lowering the bar like they are in a race to the center of the Earth. Your party has become a charicature of itself, the kind of thing that twenty years ago people making fun of Republicans would have done to exagerate for comedic effect. Even Colbert has trouble at times finding a more ludicrous position than the ones Republicans are actually taking.

No, I will unequivocably say Obama is crap but the alternative is so much worse.

 

[bradly1101]

I don't know, but the one thing I liked about Romney was that he was 100% up front about the fact that there would be more boots on the ground everywhere... he was hypertestosteronal as some would say.

Conversely, I can't stand this cloak and dagger shit Obama has always done... he attacks like a pussy out of the darkness.

I always thought of drones since pre-Obama days as a chicken-sh#t weapon. It's easier, cheaper, less accurate and very dangerous to innocents. I'm not sure that war should be any of those things.

 

[bradly1101]

Is that a quote?

 

[Brovane]

Is that a quote?

A direct quote no.

 

[Brovane]

I always thought of drones since pre-Obama days as a chicken-sh#t weapon. It's easier, cheaper, less accurate and very dangerous to innocents. I'm not sure that war should be any of those things.

I think you are missing the point of a weapon system. War isn't about fighting fair. If you can kill your enemy from a distance without endangering US soldiers then I am all for it. It really isn't any different than using aircraft with PGM. The drones just don't put any US airmen at risk and with no humans inside have and have longer loiter time. How is a US aircraft dropping a PGM and a drone dropping a PGM any different for innocents?