Drones that can zap our enemies from above like Zeus throwing down thunderbolts would seem like a great anti-terrorism technology. But we probably won’t like them as much when other countries–and terrorists–use them to assassinate people on our soil.
But whatever you think of drone warfare, I was struck by a news story reporting on a bipartisan commission studying the issue in which one consequence is said to be a state of “never-ending war.”
From Thomas Gibbons-Neff, U.S. drone policies a ‘slippery slope’ for continuous wars, report finds – The Washington Post:
Targeted drone strikes have become a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism policy, but a new report issued by a bipartisan panel of former intelligence and defense officials has concluded the approach constitutes a “slippery slope” toward a state of never-ending war.
The 81-page report, released by the Stimson Center on Thursday, also points to the fact that the Obama administration has yet to conduct any “strategic analysis” on the cost-benefit of continued drone strikes in places such as Yemen and Pakistan.
“A serious counterterrorism strategy needs to consider carefully, and constantly reassess the balance between kinetic action and other counterterrorism tools, and the potential unintended consequences of increased reliance on lethal UAV’s,” the report concludes, using the acronym for unmanned aerial vehicles.
[Keep reading. . . .]
The complete report is here.
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