Drone Ethics
Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles are used for surveillance and can be used to decimate hostile forces. Drones have recently become notorious for their lethal casualties around the world especially in the Middle East. Citizens in America are becoming more aware of the increasing use of drones by law enforcement agencies and the use of these ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ has created a huge controversy on whether they should be used or not. While there are many supporters for the use of drones there are also many opponents too, the real question is are drones ethical? If so should the U.S introduce domestic use of drones. Use of drones has become a standard of the U.S for gathering intelligence on other countries, while the use …show more content…
residents now, it could soon become a problem. Such as if the U.S. continues to increase reliance on these drones to carry out military goals it could lead to the use of force becoming a default when dealing with problems. With drones replacing conventional warfare, there are soon to be thousands of drones in the skies “by 2020 the U.S. will have around 30,000 functional drones ” (Amoureux 1). Some supporters of drones argue that they provide valuable intel from surveillance and, since they can carry out targeted killings without risking lives of soldiers, they are a great form of warfare “in the first two years of counter-insurgency operations, the air force conducted more than 5,500 strike sorties, dropped 10,600 bombs and hit 4,600 targets.” According to a meta-study of drone strikes, between 8 to 17% of all people killed in drone strikes are civilians, this may not seem like a lot, but when these strikes are carried out it traumatizes local populations (Dehahn 1). Research has proven that drone strikes are cheaper than engaging in ground and manned combat and soon drone strikes will allow the United States to become emotionally disconnected from the horrors of war. War is violent and explicit, being a soldier witnessing it scars many, but allowing all warfare to be dealt with by drones disconnects emotions from
Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles are used for surveillance and can be used to decimate hostile forces. Drones have recently become notorious for their lethal casualties around the world especially in the Middle East. Citizens in America are becoming more aware of the increasing use of drones by law enforcement agencies and the use of these ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ has created a huge controversy on whether they should be used or not. While there are many supporters for the use of drones there are also many opponents too, the real question is are drones ethical? If so should the U.S introduce domestic use of drones. Use of drones has become a standard of the U.S for gathering intelligence on other countries, while the use …show more content…
residents now, it could soon become a problem. Such as if the U.S. continues to increase reliance on these drones to carry out military goals it could lead to the use of force becoming a default when dealing with problems. With drones replacing conventional warfare, there are soon to be thousands of drones in the skies “by 2020 the U.S. will have around 30,000 functional drones ” (Amoureux 1). Some supporters of drones argue that they provide valuable intel from surveillance and, since they can carry out targeted killings without risking lives of soldiers, they are a great form of warfare “in the first two years of counter-insurgency operations, the air force conducted more than 5,500 strike sorties, dropped 10,600 bombs and hit 4,600 targets.” According to a meta-study of drone strikes, between 8 to 17% of all people killed in drone strikes are civilians, this may not seem like a lot, but when these strikes are carried out it traumatizes local populations (Dehahn 1). Research has proven that drone strikes are cheaper than engaging in ground and manned combat and soon drone strikes will allow the United States to become emotionally disconnected from the horrors of war. War is violent and explicit, being a soldier witnessing it scars many, but allowing all warfare to be dealt with by drones disconnects emotions from