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##ethical Analysis Of Bradley Strawser's Moral Predators By Bradley Strawser

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In Bradley Strawser’s “Moral Predators,” Strawser argues that “we are obligated to employ uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) weapon systems if it can be shown that their use does not significantly reduce a warfighter’s operational capability.” By their very nature UAVs evoke many ethical questions most of which are addressed by Strawser, who stresses “there is no downside to UAVs.” I would argue there are certainly some downsides to this technology. The aim of this paper is to provide legitimate moral objections to using drones in warfare.
The first issue concerning UAVs deals with the inability for an opponent to surrender under the attack of a UAV strike. Additionally, I will discuss the possible increased inclination to start war …show more content…

Collateral damage is a immoral justification for downplaying the killing of innocent people -- those of which UAVs still contribute to. That said, there is data to show that UAVs cause less collateral damage than traditional warfare technologies, but they may, at the same time, make war seem similar to a computer game, risk free and easy to pull the trigger. This leads me to consider the possibility that there is a lower threshold for their use and increased inclination for UAVs to proliferate and, perhaps, provoke a state of war. For obvious reasons (UAV pilots operating from hundreds or thousands of miles away), there’s less risk of injury and death to our soldiers’ lives, which may have an affect on the impetus to start a war.
It is important to analyze the historical implications of UAVs. Would the United states have entered war with Persian Gulf, Kosovo or Iraq if there was potential for retaliation on U.S soil. Would the the United States have entered those wars, if those countries could choose to counter attack with UAVs? A question of proportionate response also creates reasons to believe there are moral downsides to count against using drones. The increase of asymmetric warfare techniques by one side of the conflict leads to the rise of a response in asymmetric warfare by the other side. It is not difficult to see similarities between drones and suicide bombers: one is high tech and the other low tech, neither gives the other

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