Technology has made war feel as remote as a video game: armed drones hover above like silent arbiters of life and death, striking targets with the press of a button. These “precision” machines, initially confined to distant battlefields, are now used in routine counter-terrorism operations and even domestic policing. But who really pays the price […]
Tag: drones
Confronting China: Restoring U.S. Military Hegemony in East Asia
Over the last decade, Americans of all political parties have been waking up to the threat posed by China. With rapidly growing military and economic might, China seems determined to further its own interests at the expense of the freedom, liberties, and sovereignty of neighboring countries and the liberal-democratic institutions which underpin the global order. […]
Terminator in Transition: Should drones be able to think for themselves?
The metal body flies without effort against the sky – searching, synthesizing, processing data at an inhuman speed. A specific face has been imprinted on this machine. Once found, the machine can summarily end that person’s life. This drone responds to no ground operator. It is autonomous – and lethal. This weapon does not come […]
A Drone Before Noon
Humankind has always wished to take to the skies. The innovations of Abbas ibn Firnas and the Wright Brothers have captured the imaginations of millions, as their contributions to flight technologies gave us a chance to soar through the clouds. Today, this technology is used to transport millions around the globe, allowing passage from New […]
The Grim Reaper
In 2000, an unarmed, unmanned CIA surveillance aircraft overflew Tarnak Farm in Afghanistan, taking video of the sprawling agricultural complex and a tall man dressed in a white robe. The figure in the tape, which was leaked in 2004, was believed to be Osama bin Laden. Tarnak Farm was not attacked in part because it […]
These Are Not The Drones You Expected
The conflict between liberty and security has once again reared its ugly head in Sacramento as privacy rights have come under heavy fire. On September 28, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 1327, a bill that would have created stricter guidelines regarding the use of drones in law enforcement. The bill, which passed in both […]
The Most Dangerous Game: U.S. Military Engagement in Yemen
As the U.S. prepares to withdraw its military presence from Afghanistan in 2014, the intelligence community has begun shifting the majority of its attention from the Af-Pak region, the mountainous area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the tiny country of Yemen. Faced with a plethora of domestic problems – such as a fragmented government that […]