[Peace-discuss] drones and the human cost of war

Tue Jan 8 12:06:27 UTC 2013

just saw this - he writes better than me - sorry that he works for Fox, but
he still makes sense despite my strong bias against Fox thanks to my
watching (paid admission both times) Outfoxed twice!

*16) Drone Cold Truth--LTC Ralph Peters, USA (Ret.) *****

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New York Post****

January 7, 2013 ****

Pg. 19****

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Drone Cold Truth****

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Sparing innocents, not terrorists****

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By Ralph Peters****

The inexhaustible America-haters on our domestic left are absolutely
correct that drones — unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs — are morally
ambiguous weapons. All weapons of war are morally ambiguous, as are even
“just wars” waged for purely defensive purposes. All wars violate a
universal commandment: Thou shalt not kill.****

** **

But in this imperfect world, we sometimes must kill if we are to survive.
In developed societies (such as our own) that strive toward moral behavior,
killing enemies in a conflict is regulated by laws, conventions and ethics.
At times, as in the city bombings of World War II, we cast our strictures
aside in a desperate hour. But we really do our best to spare the innocent.*
***

** **

Warfare is imprecise, though, shaped by confusion and emotion as much as by
plans. It’s unlikely that humans will ever eliminate war or find a way to
wage it so “cleanly” that every noncombatant will be safe.****

** **

But — contrary to the reflexive claims of the left — UAVs mark a
significant in sparing the innocent: morally ambiguous still, but less so
than an artillery shell or a cruise missile.****

** **

Never before has a state been able to target its deadly enemies with such
precision. And contrary to one of the countless myths of the left, we’re
trigger-happy. Under rules adopted in the Bush years and broadly retained
now, targets must be screened and approved at multiple levels in a process
so rigorous that, frequently, our enemies escape. It’s hard to see how we
could fight more ethically.****

** **

Instead of bombing a city or invading yet another country where terrorists
have found refuge, pinpoint strikes kill terrorist chieftains and their
immediate adherents (or, at worst, their willing hosts) while sparing the
family next door. But our critics, foreign and domestic, hold us to an
impossible standard, questioning whether we have the right to kill enemies
proud of their resolve to murder us. Those same critics revel in the rare
drone strikes that go awry as evidence of our alleged savagery.****

** **

But there will always be mistakes in war, because war is waged by human
beings, even if they command brilliant machines (which themselves may err).
What should be deemed remarkable is how few innocents have become
casualties in proportion to the number of confirmed terrorists eliminated.
That ratio is without precedent in warfare.****

** **

What should trouble all of us — especially those of genuine conscience on
the left — is the hard left’s willful blindness to the atrocities of the
terrorists we hunt.****

** **

These men slaughter teachers, doctors and aid workers, anonymous shoppers
in the marketplace and elementary-school students, especially girls. (In
Islamist terror’s homelands, Newtown is everywhere.)****

** **

Yet leftists romanticize America’s enemies, excusing their sins while
exaggerating our missteps. And when other accusations fall short, they trot
out the N-word of security affairs, “assassination,” equating terrorist
chieftains with JFK.****

** **

The hard left’s position is ultimately simple: America is bad, our troops
are monsters and attacks on our known enemies are criminal. And drones are
hateful because they not only make our military more effective, but also
because they spare the innocent: For leftists, it’s better if we kill more
civilians, since that reinforces their dogma.****

** **

It’s also interesting that, while the left personalized every action of
President George W. Bush, President Obama largely gets a pass, as if he’s
being duped by bloodthirsty generals. But Obama has learned to stop
worrying and love that drone: For him, UAVs are effective, politically
convenient, diplomatically defensible and (given the cost of ground
interventions) cheap.****

** **

Yes, there are moral questions. There always will be in warfare. Practical
issues arise, as well, such as the limits of sovereignty in a world of
porous borders. And, yes, there are legal and ethical matters that remain
unresolved.****

** **

But there’s one more point that the left and its fellow travelers in the
commentariat get wrong: their claim that drone strikes only create more
terrorists.****

** **

Well, no. Drone attacks deprive terror organizations of experienced leaders
and fanatical executors. And a village kid mad that his goat ran away from
the blast doesn’t automatically turn into a suicide bomber.****

** **

Do drone strikes excite anger? You bet: not least, among the terrorists and
their supporters (including sympathizers here at home). For the rest of us,
terrorists slain by UAVs mean soldiers and Marines come home alive — and a
safer world.****

** **

Ralph Peters is Fox News’ strategic analyst and a retired US Army officer.

On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 9:30 PM, Roger Helbig <rwhelbig at gmail.com> wrote:

> since when are you a judge in an international court of law - maybe if we
> had had armed drones in 2000, Bin Laden would have been taken out and 9/11
> would not have happened.  You and most of the so-called peace establishment
> believe the propagandists and ignore reality.
>
> On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 9:22 PM, Karen Medina <kmedina67 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> > But the US has no right to wage war in the first place.
>>
>> That is, of course, very true. But it is the hard to convince enough
>> people of this.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Peace-discuss mailing list
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>>
>>
>
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