Use of Drones Questioned — Reblog

Published September 22, 2021 by Nan Mykel
A refreshing blog by  By lobotero in Foreign policyInternational SituationsSociety

The US has had another drone strike against terrorists in Afghanistan….and it was a large mistake on the Pentagon’s part……and the Pentagon held a presser to explain the monumental screw-up…..

The Pentagon retreated from its defense of a drone strike that killed multiple civilians in Afghanistan last month, announcing Friday that an internal review revealed that only civilians were killed in the attack, not an Islamic State extremist as first believed. “The strike was a tragic mistake,” Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, told a Pentagon news conference, per the AP. McKenzie said the vehicle was struck “in the earnest belief” that the targeted vehicle posed an imminent threat. “I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike,” he said.

“Moreover, we now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K, or a direct threat to US forces,” he added, referring to the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate. For days after the Aug. 29 strike, Pentagon officials asserted that it had been conducted correctly, despite numerous civilians being killed, including children. News organizations later raised doubts about that version of events, reporting that the driver of the targeted vehicle was a longtime employee at an American humanitarian organization and citing an absence of evidence to support the Pentagon’s assertion that the vehicle contained explosives.

The drone did what drones do best…..kill civilians.

The media and the Pentagon always give the benefits for the use of drones…..like saves lives (debatable)…..it is precision bombing…..and it is ethical…..

Let’s take a look at all the myths you have heard about drone warfare…..

Drones have become the signature tool of 21st-century warfare, particularly by US forces in the “war on terror”. The fundamental rationale for drone use relies on their “surgical precision”, supposedly saving civilian lives.

But headlines show us this isn’t true. A recent US drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan mistakenly killed 43-year-old aid worker Zemari Ahmadi, along with nine members of his family, including seven children. This idea of precision is just one of many pervasive myths about drones that I’ve set out to dispel in my research.

Military technology aims to inflict maximum damage to the enemy while minimising our own losses of manpower and material. Drones have advantages compared to piloted aircraft, primarily that they protect the lives of those conducting strikes. This has lulled us into a false sense of security about the nature of war, suggesting that conflicts can be won from a distance, with minimum harm to civilians, in wars that are ethical and respect international law.

https://theconversation.com/five-myths-about-drone-warfare-busted-133660

Sorry war should not be made easier to carry out…..I do not see this as a step forward…..just a step into the larger mud hole…a hole that keeps expanding….

 

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