An American F-16 aircraft was hit by small arms fire while conducting a patrol in Afghanistan last week, U.S. military officials said on Monday. ... The fire hit one of the aircraft's stabilizers and damaged one of the munitions it was carrying, said a second official, Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Department of Defense.There is evidence that the drone drivers are suffering psychological trauma from their role in killing people half-a-world away. It is still nevertheless true that the drone drivers' biggest risk of injury is from either paper cuts or carpal tunnel syndrome. The average hunter takes greater risks going into the field with a gun or a bow than does a drone driver.
The drone drivers are doing what the Air Force has ordered them to do, but let it not be overlooked that fighting by drone is a cowardly way to wage war. It is as honorable as shooting a manacled man in the back of the head.
The blame rests with the men who have eagerly adopted war by drones, namely, this president and the last one.
And yes, firing a cruise missile from hundreds of miles away is in the same league as launching missiles from a drone.
War was never meant to be fair. But it also was never meant to be a no-risk proposition.
4 comments:
The blame rests with the voters. Huge majorities of Americans like the idea of blowing up foreigners, but don't like our men and women in uniform getting killed while doing it. I don't know why, but there it is.
This reminds me of a great Star Trek (original series) episode where they run into a civilization that fights wars by computers. You put in your move and the computer calculates casualties and the correct number are rounded up and quietly executed. Our heroes saw that the absence of blood made the war sterile and brought back actual combat which ended the war pronto. In our case there is blood but not the blood of people that would bother the American people.
A Taste of Armageddon.
Thanks, Comrade.
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