Drone Strikes Not The Answer

Submitted By WalterAdams
Words: 638
Pages: 3
Open Document
4/25/14
Drone Strikes Not The Answer On the morning of March 17th, 2011, in a town of Datta Khel, North Warziristan, two missiles sent from a US drone struck ground, killing forty-two people and injuring 14 others. Out of the forty-two people who were killed, thirty-four of them were civilians. The USA’s use of specialized drones to carry out military missions does not promote the ideals of our country and the amount of civilian deaths is much greater than the amount of militant deaths. Therefore, the United States of America should cease the use of specialized military drones in all fields of combat. January 23rd, 2014 marked as the fifth year anniversary of President Obama’s drone campaign. This campaign began when a CIA drone demolished a house in Pakistan’s tribal region. On this day, fourteen civilians were killed compared to the three reported military associated deaths. Only one survivor was left from the blast, a fourteen year old Pakistani boy who was left crippled and blinded from the strike (BureauInvestigates). According to The Washington Post, at least fifty-seven of the eighty-two casualties suffered in 2009 from drone strikes have been civilians. The bottom line is that drone strikes are simply not effective. Originally promoted by President Obama as an efficient way of dealing with military combatants, the drone strikes have served as the opposite. An estimated number of 2,200 people have been killed by drone strikes in the past five years (Washington Post). Though we do not know the specifics of these casualties, it is suspect to believe that more than half of these deaths were of civilians. It is a truly disturbing number to a nation that prides itself as being a watchful protector of the world. When confronted with the efficiency of drone strikes, President Obama claimed that he “wrestles” with civilian casualties. However, he claims that “It is necessary to keep the American people safe” (New York Times). From what we can tell from the statistics, these drones strikes are in no way necessary. Though they may get the job done, at what cost? There is no excuse for innocent deaths in exchange of the lives of suspected criminals. The United States need to end the use of drone strikes as soon as possible because it goes against what our nation stands for. In May of 2012, President Obama held a press conference in which he revealed that he would be cutting the number of drone strikes in the Middle East. The President
Show More

Related Documents: Drone Strikes Not The Answer

Essay The Ethics of Drone Warfare

The Ethics of Drone Warfare Jason Hollas Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University MGMT 325 Social Responsibility & Ethics The Ethics of Drone Warfare Eleven years ago, the United States Air Force launched a missile from a drone for the first time at a test range in the Nevada desert (Drone Test) . The use of armed drones has risen dramatically since 2009. Now drone strikes are almost a daily occurrence. In 2011 the use of drones continued to rise with strikes in (Afghanistan, Pakistan,…

Words 1555 - Pages 7

Justification of Drone Warfare Essay

Justification of Drone Warfare: Limiting Evil It was ten years ago, February 4, 2002, that the CIA first used the unmanned Predator drone in a targeted killing in Afghanistan (The Nation 2012). Since that day, there has been large controversy (foreign and domestic) on the justification of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is crucial to look beyond public opinion and to begin rationally looking at data of different alternatives in warfare. Analyzing the elements of war and drone technology will…

Words 2051 - Pages 9

Essay about Human Rights and Drone Encounters

killing through drones, considered ethical? Regular drone attacks have now become a norm in many countries. They are effective tools that impose terror on the people that are fired against, creating more enemies for the United States with every innocent person that is killed. Throughout history, human rights have been jeopardized by the masses of society. The use of drones has become one of the most controversial human rights issues in the world, sparking many human rights campaigns. The US Republican…

Words 2342 - Pages 10

Targeted Killings Process

Steven Bravo (Extrajudicial) Targeted Killings & Due Process INTRODUCTION It has been over a decade now that the United States have practiced identifying and killing certain individuals by missile attacks deployed from unmanned military aircraft, or drones. All of these individuals have either been identified as members of al Qaeda, the Taliban or those associated. These killings have a name, they are called extrajudicial targeted killing. Extrajudicial targeted killing is a premeditated…

Words 3564 - Pages 15

Assignment 3 position paper

Policy A August, 10th, 2013 1. The war on terror policy campaign began after the September, 11th, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York. For the last thirteen years the world has been bombarded with policies that are tailored to fight for acts of terrorism. The purpose of the war on terror which was a term that was first coined by the former president of the United States George W. Bush was a desperate act that was taken in order for Americans to protect their…

Words 1066 - Pages 5

Isis Research Paper

focused marketing and social media community building as exhibited by ISIS is something that brands strive for to get their message across" (Dinah Alobeid). ISIS uses terms more commonly found used by the young western populations in Europe and the United States on games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, League of Legends, and other video games to attract other’s attention. Sociologist’s remark how ISIS uses excellent advertising and savviness to gather attention from people all over the world. Because of…

Words 1487 - Pages 6

Blowback Model

organization through blowback. The nationalist philosophy of ISIS provides one example of the blowback of American bombing campaigns that have united Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in the Syrian civil war. More so, the complex organization of terrorist groups further defines the difficulty in tracking down and stopping ISIS through Turkey, which happens to be an ally of the United States: In fact, al-Qaeda affiliated organizations…

Words 1450 - Pages 6

Iran Hostage Crisis Research Paper

Crisis For decades, Iran and the United States have been at odds with one another. The Iranian revolution against the Pahlavi dynasty, whose leader was supported by the United States, was a significant precursor to the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979 through 1980. When the revolution broke out, the United States harbored Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran at the time, which outraged Iranian citizens. Later, armed and angry, Iranian citizens stormed the United States embassy in Tehran and took sixty-six…

Words 1971 - Pages 8

Obama Administration: Liberal Or Realist?

got elected for United States’ president in the year of 2008, Obama made countless of speeches where he was being identified with the liberalist notions of multilateralism, cooperation with allies, interdependence, and democracy. Their actions, however, speaks much louder than words, through the actions of his administration, it has been proved to be more of an actual realist than a liberalist. During the previous five years, the world has witnessed a continuation of the United States' involvement in…

Words 1253 - Pages 6

Lkjh Essay

Iran, the largest Shiite country, has been a theocracy since the ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. It has been at odds with the United States and the West for much of that time. Over the last few years, the United States has criticized Iran for its suppression of the pro-democracy Green movement in 2009 when a disputed presidential vote set off a bloody crackdown against street protesters; its support for militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah; and, most…

Words 6185 - Pages 25