Drones are not perfect. They carry clear moral repercussions; removing the finger behind the trigger of a soldier in Afghanistan and giving it to a Washington bureaucrat weakens our desire to pursue peaceful alternatives. But drones have been both vital to our efforts abroad and brutally effective in the War on Terror.
David Freed ’16 is a Crimson sports writer and editorial comper in Wigglesworth Hall.
The Never-Ending Drone War
In his second inaugural address, President Obama declared, “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.” Yet the administration’s legal justification for the use of drones to kill American citizens explicitly relies on the premise that we are at war. While drones have been effective in killing leading terrorists, their use threatens to continue the United States’ commitment to war for the foreseeable future rather than helping to end the longest state of war in our nation’s history.
As laid out in a recently leaked Justice Department white paper, the administration derives the legal justification for these attacks primarily from the Authorization for Use of Military Force. This 2001 law authorizes the president to combat those responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in order to prevent future attacks.
The administration defines “those responsible” as the senior members of al Qaeda or associated groups who pose an “imminent threat” to the United States by planning or participating in terrorist activities. Further, the administration claims the right to kill without evidence of a specific terrorist plot and says merely having been involved in the previous planning of terrorist activities is enough. Given al Qaeda’s widespread reach in the Middle East and Africa, what current or future terrorist group in the region would not qualify as a target? And how many leaders of these groups have never been involved in the planning of attacks against the United States? I fear the administration has effectively given itself the power to kill any American citizen high up in any terrorist group until such groups no longer exist—or until Congress repeals the AUMF.
The United States will never be able to wipe out terrorism entirely. Obama’s drone war thus calls for perpetual war.
Daniel E. Backman ’15 is a social studies concentrator in Mather House.
Drones: a Good Tool for a Tough Job
The United States’ use of combat drones is quasi-Orwellian and has become a blemish to our national image. Despite this, the use of drones is a fundamentally good policy for the United States.
Drones are the best tool we have for conducting surgical strikes in populated areas. Drones can constantly monitor an area, find the best possible moment to strike, and stay on site to monitor the results without endangering the lives of US forces.
Like any new invention, our understanding of how to best use drones is still evolving, and a critical public eye is key to ensure the proper development of drone doctrines. Public pressure has ensured that every strike is agonizingly reviewed beforehand, and as a result fewer mistakes are made every year. A drone can monitor a situation for hours before striking, making it less likely to kill innocents than traditional methods. Although these strikes will still generate anger, this is more to do with the inherently violent nature of war and not due to the nature of drones themselves. Drones have become a symbol for our wars, and therefore popular opinion about them is a reflection of opinions about our wars on the whole. From the constant surveillance required by modern warfare to the terrifying destruction wrought by a modern missile, drones embody the horror of modern warfare. Yet, Drones are the best tool our servicemen and women have to wage war. Objections against the use of these tools are misdirected—protest the war, not the drone.
Gregory C. Dunn ‘16 lives in Canaday Hall.