American Opinion: Drone Killing vs Enhanced Interrogation - New England Patriots Forums

***IcyPatriot*** · 12-02-2010, 08:15 PM

I saw this and I'm like this is what I said more than once in the water boarding threads. Some time has past and the author makes a great point that it is way easier to kill someone by drone than it is to interrogate them.

David Ignatius - Our default is killing terrorists by drone attack. Do you care?

Quote:

The pace of drone attacks on the tribal areas has increased sharply during the Obama presidency, with more assaults in September and October of this year than in all of 2008. At the same time, efforts to capture al-Qaeda suspects have virtually stopped. Indeed, if CIA operatives were to snatch a terrorist tomorrow, the agency wouldn't be sure where it could detain him for interrogation.

Quote:

It's curious why the American public seems so comfortable with a tactic that arguably is a form of long-range assassination, after the furor about the CIA's use of nonlethal methods known as "enhanced interrogation."

David makes a few good points in the article if anyone cares to read it.

One thing i don't hear is people claiming that drone strikes create terrorists which is something we heard often during the Bush years. I think logic dictates that the innocent women and children killed do create future terrorists and the killings themselves have to help their recruiting.

Surely there is no one good answer and i'm not saying there is a decent answer. well i shouldn't say that either because if it were up to me I'd leave the tribal areas alone, i'd cut a deal with the Taliban and I'd save someone's father from coming home in a box ... dead from no really good reason. let the Taliban have the country and we can then shoot weed killer drones that kill the poppy plants ... they would beg for us to come back.

***DarrylS*** · 12-02-2010, 08:18 PM

Both are immoral and neither should be used, unfortunately this points to my contention that as a country we have become so desensitized to war/collateral damage... it has become akin to sometype of video game played by geeks in a bunker in North Dakota.

***IcyPatriot*** · 12-02-2010, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarrylS

Both are immoral and neither should be used, unfortunately this points to my contention that as a country we have become so desensitized to war/collateral damage... it has become akin to sometype of video game played by geeks in a bunker in North Dakota.

You make a good point and drone kills are way more video game then interrogation. You have said that many times and unfortunately we are more desensitized when you say it now than the last time you said it. The country was worried about body bags when we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq ... rarely read about it anymore.

***DarrylS*** · 12-03-2010, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcyPatriot

You make a good point and drone kills are way more video game then interrogation. You have said that many times and unfortunately we are more desensitized when you say it now than the last time you said it. The country was worried about body bags when we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq ... rarely read about it anymore.

I have a nephew who is a video game artist for Kaos Studios(division of THQ), and is major player in the games like "Fuel of War" and others.. when I see him we have healthy discussions about the role of video games and the overall desensitization to the horrors of war in this country.. we do not resolve much, but it is interesting. His politics are left of progressive, and he contends that what he does has no influence on culture. I counter with my contention that the anti war themed movies coming out of Viet Nam influenced a nation, "Deer Hunter", "Apocalypse Now", "Full Metal Jacket", "Friendly Fire" etc. The current wave of games like "Tour of Duty", "Tour of Duty Black Ops" have desensitized us to war. These games are made up of cyborg like warriors, can take a couple of rounds and still keep on fighting killing many and emerging victorious..

sdaniels7114 · 12-03-2010, 06:27 AM

I'm not seeing a connection between terrorists in the field with both motive and opportunity to do us harm vs terrorists in jail cells with no weapons. The senior men in charge over in Afghanistan are constantly claiming that a central tenet of this most recent push is a redoubling of the effort to avoid civilian deaths. I don't know enough about what they do to judge their success at that, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

***Harry Boy*** · 12-03-2010, 07:57 AM

Obama is just another killer like they said Bush was the only difference he is the Left Wings little darling Poster Boy, he could waterboard, behead, and pull finger nails and the ball washers at MSNBC would be dead silent or they would be yapping about Michelle's "salad bars".

It isn't the Waterboarding the slopping loons care about it's all about who does the Waterboarding.

***IcyPatriot*** · 12-03-2010, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdaniels7114

I'm not seeing a connection between terrorists in the field with both motive and opportunity to do us harm vs terrorists in jail cells with no weapons. The senior men in charge over in Afghanistan are constantly claiming that a central tenet of this most recent push is a redoubling of the effort to avoid civilian deaths. I don't know enough about what they do to judge their success at that, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think we'll know for at least 10 if not 20 years if this was the right strategy. Pakistan is not going to do more than they are. i still think we should make a deal with the Taliban ... we certainly deal with worse.

Holy Diver · 12-03-2010, 05:56 PM

If you are gunna use the "cute words" for torture, and not for what you call DRONE KILLING, I believe the question is loaded.

We really need Rove on this one (hes the best), but I'll give it a shot.

Drone Killing:

Remote target elimination
Pilotfree Sorties
The weapon from that Chevy Chase movie "Deal of the Century"
Freedom Strikes
Liberty Eagle Tax Cuts

***Harry Boy*** · 12-03-2010, 06:51 PM

Obama Drone Killing:
Kill every thing that moves.

***Harry Boy*** · 12-03-2010, 06:57 PM

Achtung:
German on the Obama Drone Killing

'Obama Is not God': US Drone Attack Raises Uncomfortable Questions for Germany - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International