Drones or unmanned aircraft are like a hammer or gun. They are tools. They are not inherently good or bad. How they are used becomes the ethical issue at hand. Drones have a broad spectrum of wage; from the delivery of pizza, to weather forecasting, to weapons platforms in armed conflict. It is the purpose of this paper to show the use of drones in warfare is necessary and can be ethically justified using the principles of both deontology and utilitarianism. The fact that drones are remotely controlled, sometimes from great distances, does not remove the operators from responsibility, no more than the bullet fired from a gun, it is still the responsibility of the soldier who fired it. Fighting against groups who oppress their citizens through …show more content…
Deontology would say that it, is the pilot’s choice to attack a known target or no to attack a known target. Michael Bergmann advises this would be “distinction between objective and subjective moral duties” he also notes this is “fairy common” (Bergmann). I liken this to the choices the pilot believes they are in possession of, versus the reality of the choices they ultimately have. Deontologicaly speaking the pilot would only be held responsible for the good or wrongness of their actions alone. For example, if a pilot controlling a drone was sent to back up allied troops pinned down by enemy fire and fired two missiles with the first missile striking and neutralizing the enemy combatants. This would be a good thing. However if that second missile missed the target and hit a building where it is unknown if the occupant inside are hostile, it is still a justified use of the drone to defeat an enemy and the drone pilot would not held responsible for unforeseen collateral
Article One: Dainel Byman, in his article Why Drones Work: The Case for Washington’s weapon of Choice in an August 2013 article in the Brookings Institute, identifies the positive impact of US drone strikes. Byman contends that US drone strikes are extremely efficient, at little financial cost to the government, and protect the lives of American soldiers. For these reasons, Byman believes that US drone strikes are necessary to the war on terror.
Kaag and Kreps’s main concerns are that drone technology is not consistent with international laws. The reasons for the author’s beliefs is that drone technology do not adhere the principals that international laws consist of. The authors talk about jus ad bellum – the right of war, also interpreted as the right of retaliation on the basis of self-defense – and how that justification is based on false principals. The other principal that the authors feel is being misused is jus in bello – the justification (or lack thereof) to engage in a war – due to the issues with interpretation that is existent in modern warfare. The authors believe that further preventative measures need to be established to insure that drone warfare adheres to international laws.
September 11 attacks marked an unprecedented development and advancement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones. Because of their technological capabilities and strategic advantages, drones have been used by the United States government as one of the main weapons in ‘war against terrorism.’ An unmanned aircraft was first used by Elmer Sperry, creator of the gyroscope, when sinking a German captured battleship, but its usage for military purposes began after 1985 (Shaw, 2012, p. 1490). As the United States initiated the use drones against Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, vast criticism sparked throughout the world questioning its legality under the international law. In this paper, I will focus on the
Drones are an effective counter insurgency tool deployed extensively throughout the world, especially by clandestine intelligence organizations often with the help of the country’s respective Air Force. Not only do they serve as an effective weapon, they minimize human
Technology is changing the way humans complete certain tasks. Whether it be communicating with others, or using navigation tools for directions, technology affects everyone in some way or another. In fact, technology is changing the way our government fights wars with other countries and terrorist groups. Drones have become one of the most sought after pieces of military equipment in the last decade. They have become one of the many important tools our government uses for counterterrorism policies in the United States. Recently, these defense mechanisms have received a great deal of public attention, which has stirred up much controversy. Many people, including government officials and politicians, question the necessity and ethics of drones
Humans have discussed and argued about the morality and ethical connotations of war, and the means in which we conduct our wars, for thousands of years. Every major civilization in our world has an evolved tradition on what is and is not acceptable on the battlefields in which we meet. These traditions and views continue to change based on a reflection on similar concerns.
Advancements in warfare technology and weaponry have been the defining factors in battle since the dawn of civilization. The one with the bigger gun usually wins. This is a fact that hasn’t changed much since the beginnings of warfare and holds true today and in today’s world Drones have become the next warfare advantage. Along with any advancement in warfare weaponry comes a very heated and controversial discussion about its actual real-world utilization. Many argue that the use of Drones in war is unmoral and unethical. This paper aims to take a closer look at both sides of this argument. First, I will establish and explain the moral arguments against the use of drone
The automation of the modern battlefield and the proliferation of unmanned systems to conduct war is a reality and imaginably it will only increase in the future. As these new weapon systems make their way to the battlefield it will require leaders to decide how to responsibly employ these systems and how often they will be used in substitution of actual Soldiers. The benefits and effectiveness of drones cannot be denied. The use of drones does limit the exposure of American Soldiers and the accuracy of drones to kill the enemy and limit civilian casualties does and will continue to improve.
War zone, which is accounted for a high sense of cruelty make drones technology is “the only game in town” in fighting suspected terrorism and becoming an attractive and inexpensive preference for military service (Wall, 2013). It improved the success rate of high risk missions including behind-the-lines surveillance that also reduced the cost and human casualities of war to a greater extent (Black, 2013).
Nearly ninety percent of all drone strikes are not the target. I am discussing Drones and if they are morally wrong in this speech. Drones have saved many lives and are extremely efficient. Although drones are reckless and create too many casualties. Advancements in technology are led by curiosity and a want to move forward but sometimes those advancements are not always good. When it comes to drones the negative aspects outweigh the positive benefits.
Economist, T. (2011, july 30). Drones and the man/ the ethics of warfare. the economist, 400. Retrieved from the economist: Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?
There are three main factors to be judged in order to determine whether having fire-combating drones is ethical or unethical [1]:
The improvement of technologies especially the creation of Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWS) also raise further ethical questions. Michael C. Horowitz (2016) raise several
Moral, by definition, from the Webster Dictionary, concerns the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character (Webster Dictionary, 2015). Recently, drones have been put on a moral watch list by governments around the world and the people they preside over and rightfully so (Arria, 2012). Drones, being equipped with Hellfire missiles that possess the ability to travel at high speeds, carry a large amount of baggage. It is understandable why some people see these killer robots as extremely troubling (Arria, 2012). The United States’ presence via drones in countries whom they are not at war with raise questions in regards to the legality of the U.S.’s operations (Eickenberg,
Terrorism has been a detrimental issue in our society and, in direct response to the threat, the intelligence community started to use a tactic that proved, to some, to be divisive and controversial: torture. They believed that in order to protect their constituencies and countries they felt that torture, kept relatively private, would effectively root out terrorism and the strategies that they employ. However, as with anything in the age of the Internet, nothing stays quiet for long and many human rights groups have taken an opposition to the use of torture. This has increasingly become more and more controversial of an activity and thus we need to start to look at the ethical implications of torture and how that impacts the future of counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering. Before we delve into ethics we need to set up a base knowledge by looking at the historical implications of torture, how it has evolved, and where that leaves us today. Following that the paper will head towards how torture is used and how effective it is. Finally, after understanding these first, key points we will begin to dive into how utilizing torture does, or does not, affect our ethics. Now, we move towards the history behind torturing terrorism.