deep
Blue Crack Addict
Obama blew it,
he missed his photo op.
he missed his photo op.
Pot, kettle?No offense, but do you ever have anything relevant to say?
^Yup. I would rather see U.S. food aid rations being eaten at an Al Qaeda training camp than dead civilians from an errant US/UN attack.
But, what can we do? And I do mean this with respect.
And, I think we should seriously consider stopping arming the Afghans and Pakistanis with American weapons. Anything leading to death in those countries that has a U.S. affiliation will just continue Al Qaeda's propaganda and recruitment campaign.
YES. Fully agree with this.
It's always struck me funny how we freak out if those countries produce their own weapons, 'cause we fear they'll possibly "fall into the wrong hands"-well, isn't the same danger apparent if we provide them with the weapons? If we don't trust them to build their own weapons, why are we giving them some of ours? It doesn't make sense.
Angela
I think the unmanned drone technology is brilliant and has and will continue to serve our military very well.
But, any drone use in the Middle East or South Asia right now just screams UNITED STATES, even if several other countries are building/using drone technology.
But technology does fail, and I dunno, it seems weird for people to sign up for the military saying they'll "put their lives on the line to protect the country", only to turn some of the work over to the drones. And leaving the drones unmanned seems odd, too. Don't mean it to sound like I'm saying "the robots will take over!", 'cause I'm not, but shouldn't there be some control of them?
I mean let's continue to use the military as an aid arm in Pakistan/Afghanistan even if it is feeding our enemies, and cut back or stop any armed activity.
There's no reason we shouldn't just scale back to an advisory role in both countries. And, I think we should seriously consider stopping arming the Afghans and Pakistanis with American weapons. Anything leading to death in those countries that has a U.S. affiliation will just continue Al Qaeda's propaganda and recruitment campaign.
I've read a few discussions from people in the military talking about the ethics of allowing drones' AI (Artificial Intelligence) to make the decision to kill. The technology is there. It's fascinating. It seems that almost all of the military is against it and that they will always keep a human brain in the decision loop, but that could change in a decade or two. And, then we are in "Terminator" territory where machines become self-aware and begin killing humans.
Actually there was a test in I believe South Africa a few years ago where an automated defense weapon (I believe it was an air defense gun) turned against the people that were observing it. I can't remember if anyone died. I'll have to find that article.
I've read a few discussions from people in the military talking about the ethics of allowing drones' AI (Artificial Intelligence) to make the decision to kill. The technology is there. It's fascinating. It seems that almost all of the military is against it and that they will always keep a human brain in the decision loop, but that could change in a decade or two. And, then we are in "Terminator" territory where machines become self-aware and begin killing humans.
Actually there was a test in I believe South Africa a few years ago where an automated defense weapon (I believe it was an air defense gun) turned against the people that were observing it. I can't remember if anyone died. I'll have to find that article.
Anddddd explosives found in a plane from Yemen. Awesome.
I think the unmanned drone technology is brilliant and has and will continue to serve our military very well. But, any drone use in the Middle East or South Asia right now just screams UNITED STATES, even if several other countries are building/using drone technology.
Yikes. Yeah, if you can find that, I'd be very interested to read that.
Angela
Once in a while, though, these machines start firing mysteriously on their own. The South African National Defence Force "is probing whether a software glitch led to an antiaircraft cannon malfunction that killed nine soldiers and seriously injured 14 others during a shooting exercise on Friday."
This is just my guess Angela. Soldiers have reasoning ability. Say for an example. They would not see a baby as a threat. But, a machine is programed to carry out certain functions. It can not determine when it is better to not to act.
I can understand why the soldiers don't want to use them. If they go into a village and there is no threat. Then, the soldiers will act accordingly. Maned drones strike a target. These targets have sometimes been innocent civilians.
It's always struck me funny how we freak out if those countries produce their own weapons, 'cause we fear they'll possibly "fall into the wrong hands"-well, isn't the same danger apparent if we provide them with the weapons? If we don't trust them to build their own weapons, why are we giving them some of ours? It doesn't make sense.
i can't reconcile the discussion in the thread with this post. can you elaborate?
What we don't want is the ability for them to get their hands on more dangerous weapons, like anti-tank missiles or predator drones for example. We don't really sell those kinds of weapons to countries outside of NATO.
It seemed as good a place as any to post it.
It is mildly funny that Iran has F-14s. They can't service them, but someone thought it was a good idea to sell them one of our best fighters at some point in the late '70s/early '80s.
the enemy of my enemy, as it turns out, is a probably poor idiom to live by.
I'll take the quote:
Choose your enemies carefully, 'cause they will define you
Make them interesting, 'cause in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends
Gonna last with you longer than your friends
^I think that was Plato.
Thanks, Mark, for the articles.
*Shudders* And the bit about the female soldier who tried valiantly to stop things.... No matter what exactly happened, that's just horrible. And insane.
And the thought of Iran and Israel having "doomsday-esque" weapons, gee, that's...comforting. Potential WW3, anyone?
Oh, yeah, I definitely don't doubt that's why they're against it. I just find it odd that if they don't like it, they still have it. But then again, just because most of the military feels that way doesn't mean everyone there does, so...
Angela
a muslim fellow trying to blow up a synagogue almost isn't news.
the enemy of my enemy, as it turns out, is a probably poor idiom to live by.
a muslim fellow trying to blow up a synagogue almost isn't news.