Drone Strikes And The Obama Administration

[kujo]

[quote]
Mr. Obama is the liberal law professor who campaigned against the Iraq war and torture, and then insisted on approving every new name on an expanding “kill list,” poring over terrorist suspects’ biographies on what one official calls the macabre “baseball cards” of an unconventional war. When a rare opportunity for a drone strike at a top terrorist arises — but his family is with him — it is the president who has reserved to himself the final moral calculation.

“He is determined that he will make these decisions about how far and wide these operations will go,” said Thomas E. Donilon, his national security adviser. “His view is that he’s responsible for the position of the United States in the world.” He added, “He’s determined to keep the tether pretty short.”[/quote]
Source: [url="http://www.nytimes.c...ner=rss&emc=rss"]http://www.nytimes.c...ner=rss&emc=rss[/url]

The above was taken from and excellent (and lengthy) article from the NY Times, assessing the president's favoring of drone strikes targeting suspected terrorists in countries like Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Say what you want about his domestic policies, and even some of his foreign policies, but his counter-terrorism stuff overseas has been conducted adroitly and with an intensity that is fairly atypical for a modern Democrat. Sure, there are those who are butthurt about drone strikes, but I'll take these more precise attacks over the large-scale invasions and occupations of the Bush Administration.

Thoughts?

[HisChildForever]

This is off-topic, but I'm just curious - did you vote for him the first time, and do you plan to vote for him this November? Like I said, just curious, I'm not going to debate your answers lol

[kujo]

[quote name='HisChildForever' timestamp='1338391185' post='2437794']
This is off-topic, but I'm just curious - did you vote for him the first time, and do you plan to vote for him this November? Like I said, just curious, I'm not going to debate your answers lol
[/quote]

Did not vote for him in 2008, and will not vote for him in November.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338391260' post='2437795']
Did not vote for him in 2008, and will not vote for him in November.
[/quote]

razzle dazzle beans then

[arfink]

Well, I have always favored the use of more technologically advanced weapons that can reduce the sorts of unnecessary damage and killing that come with conventional war. I think many modern weapons may make it possible to actually fight a just war and win. I would greatly prefer drone strikes over, say, widespread firebombing.

I think part of the concern people show over drone strikes is that the administration has been willing to use drones in certain situations because it provides them with a loophole (in the case of treaties written with language that predates the advent of drone warfare) and a certain amount of impunity, since they would never have to worry about losing a pilot behind enemy lines on a mission they should never have been engaged in. You can easily rig a drone to self-destruct, but you can't easily to that with a human pilot.

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='arfink' timestamp='1338402626' post='2437880']
Well, I have always favored the use of more technologically advanced weapons that can reduce the sorts of unnecessary damage and killing that come with conventional war. I think many modern weapons may make it possible to actually fight a just war and win. I would greatly prefer drone strikes over, say, widespread firebombing.

I think part of the concern people show over drone strikes is that the administration has been willing to use drones in certain situations because it provides them with a loophole (in the case of treaties written with language that predates the advent of drone warfare) and a certain amount of impunity, since they would never have to worry about losing a pilot behind enemy lines on a mission they should never have been engaged in. [b]You can easily rig a drone to self-destruct, but you can't easily to that with a human pilot.[/b]
[/quote]

Actually, all you need to do is tell the pilot seventy-two virgins are waiting for him if he does and you'll be set. This is rather inhumane, though, so I would rather not go this route.

[Lil Red]

[img]http://images2.dailykos.com/i/user/2722/TMW2012-05-30colorlowres.jpg[/img]

[Socrates]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338390973' post='2437793']
Sure, there are those who are butthurt about drone strikes, but I'll take these more precise attacks over the large-scale invasions and occupations of the Bush Administration.

Thoughts?
[/quote]
Robot assassins, the wave of the future!

[img]http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g470/GregoryIRice/Terminator.jpg[/img]

[Winchester]

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/John_Connor_T4.JPG/220px-John_Connor_T4.JPG[/img]

[Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam]

I would like to formally say now on the internet that I for one welcome our new computer overlords. Skynet should not believe my phone when it says I have threatened that it will be the first thing to go if my machines rebel against me.

Edited May 31, 2012 by Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

[kujo]

I'[color=#282828]m not nearly as worried about robo-assassins as I a[/color][color=#282828]m about the co[/color][color=#282828]m[/color][color=#282828]mence[/color][color=#282828]ment of the zo[/color][color=#282828]mbie apocalypse. I live in Florida, and we just had so[/color][color=#282828]me dude no[/color][color=#282828]m'ing on another dude's face down here! Ish is gettin' real![/color]

[Winchester]

The greatest trick the totalitarians ever pulled was convincing the world that they are liberal.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

when did the u.s.a turn into nationalists and not patriots, the patriots are your strong arm and they will rise up, hopefully not in a hippy manner this time. Surely our beloved u.s.a patriots must put a stop to these pre-emptive strikes and just beef up homeland security. Defence iz tha best offence, defence of your homeland and defence of allies homelands if somone tries to invade them,countries like australia,new zealand,the u.k. and europe. Are we sure that everyone else are allies yet and wan't us directing there buisness? or are we kinda jumping the gun? oh i must add russia there because i hear the russian goverment is no longer anti christian.

Edited May 31, 2012 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[MIKolbe]

Feel safer....or be an enemy of the state.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

have any of these nations even asked for help ?
I assume south vietnam did when they where invaded.

[BG45]

From the article "Several were Americans". The Obama Administration has already used a drone to assassinate an American citizen who joined a terrorist organization in Yemen. He never fired against his fellow Americans, only spouted rhetoric about America's destruction that I hear from Left and Right organizations here in the United States. That we're discussing the possibility of using drone strikes to further assassinate American citizens abroad seems to be a slippery slope to me, given recent legislation allowing for their domestic use here at home. It's not that far a leap from "Let's kill this bad guy in Yemen" to "Let's kill this bad guy in America".

The media makes it sound like this is mostly the low level type of cheap drones domestically. [url="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2073248/Local-cops-used-Predator-drone-arrest-North-Dakota-farm-family-stealing-6-cows.html"]However, last year in North Dakota, a predator drone was used in a cattle stealing case.[/url]

Edit: My apologies to any Canadian posters who click the link. The English language is apparently elusive to the Daily Mail in its native home, and your nation is referred to as "Can[b]i[/b]da".

Edited May 31, 2012 by BG45

[Anomaly]

Meh. The right would spin it to make O look bad even if the guy was shooting babies. The left are afraid they may be on the list too. I wonder what the dollar per death ratio is

[Innocent]

[quote name='Socrates' timestamp='1338420454' post='2438191']
Robot assassins, the wave of the future!


[/quote]

[url="http://xkcd.com/652/"]XKCD[/url]



Thanks for providing a new POV, Kujo.

[url="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/article3478492.ece"]The same news[/url] was published here, but they made it look like a negative thing. However, to be fair to the paper, they also published [url="http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3373708.ece"]this[/url].

Edited June 1, 2012 by Innocent

[rizz_loves_jesus]

How about we get rid of both drones AND military invasions overseas? These drones are frickin terrifying.

[kujo]

[quote name='rizz_loves_jesus' timestamp='1338694927' post='2440122']
How about we get rid of both drones AND military invasions overseas? These drones are frickin terrifying.
[/quote]

Ok John Lennon...