This Just Out... And, It is Worth Considering

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Perhaps the best article of the past week. It certainly suggests, and rightly so, the far reaching ramifications of a drone arms race. Not that most will pay attention, or seriously consider and think though the ramifications of such a scenario. Nor will most Americans seriously consider {IMHO} the United States role in beginning or perpetuating its development.

Rational Nation USA makes no judgement other than to observe that if we as a nation do not take seriously this development, and deal with it in a rational manner that is in our own national self interest we will deserve that which we allow.

The following article by Scott Shane as published in the New York Times.

AT the Zhuhai air show in southeastern China last November, Chinese companies startled some Americans by unveiling 25 different models of remotely controlled aircraft and showing video animation of a missile-armed drone taking out an armored vehicle and attacking a United States aircraft carrier.

The presentation appeared to be more marketing hype than military threat; the event is China’s biggest aviation market, drawing both Chinese and foreign military buyers. But it was stark evidence that the United States’ near monopoly on armed drones was coming to an end, with far-reaching consequences for American security, international law and the future of warfare.

Eventually, the United States will face a military adversary or terrorist group armed with drones, military analysts say. But what the short-run hazard experts foresee is not an attack on the United States, which faces no enemies with significant combat drone capabilities, but the political and legal challenges posed when another country follows the American example. The Bush administration, and even more aggressively the Obama administration, embraced an extraordinary principle: that the United States can send this robotic weapon over borders to kill perceived enemies, even American citizens, who are viewed as a threat.

“Is this the world we want to live in?” asks Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Because we’re creating it.”

What was a science-fiction scenario not much more than a decade ago has become today’s news. In Iraq and Afghanistan, military drones have become a routine part of the arsenal. In Pakistan, according to American officials, strikes from Predators and Reapers operated by the C.I.A. have killed more than 2,000 militants; the number of civilian casualties is hotly debated. In Yemen last month, an American citizen was, for the first time, the intended target of a drone strike, as Anwar al-Awlaki, the Qaeda propagandist and plotter, was killed along with a second American, Samir Khan. {Read More}

Certainly gives one something to think about. Yes?

Via: Memeorandum