At the last presidential debate, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama agreed on the use of drone strikes. In fact, regardless of who wins the election, drones will start appearing over North America’s skies in addition to their current use in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq.
In February 2012, Congress passed a bill which ordered the FAA to develop regulations for the testing and licensing of commercial drones by 2015. On October 25, the FAA approved the use of surveillance drones by a police department in the Seattle area, despite massive protests. While the idea of drones over our own skies is scary enough, what is truly horrific is the effect drones are having on innocent people in the Middle East.
Drones are possibly the most ineffective tool the military uses. According to a study by New America Foundation, there have been 215 drone attacks in Pakistan since 2004, killing between 1,372 and 2,125 people. Of those, only 36 were confirmed “militant leaders” and 1061 to 1584 were called militants “in reliable press accounts.” That means that between 23-25 percent of all deaths from drone strikes were innocent lives.
Using drones as a military weapon further dehumanizes real human beings. A serviceman operating a drone from a computer screen in a base in Florida might as well think he’s playing a video game. What he doesn’t see are the mutilated and twisted bodies lying amongst the rubble after he presses the “fire” button on a joystick.
Their use in killing civilians is growing. According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, U.S drone strikes have so far killed between 474-885 civilians, in addition to 176 children. This is a horrifying statistic, and one that should not be part of America. This is having a negative impact on attitudes toward the US.
The use of drones cannot be allowed. Military action is a personal thing; the taking of lives, which the use of drones enables, cannot be done lightly.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025