The Dronification of Planet Earth

It's now commonly estimated that more than 50 nations have drones, are
making plans to develop them, or are at least planning to buy them
from thosewho do produce them. In other words, the future global skies
aregoing to be a busy -- and increasingly dangerous -- place. They
will be filled not just with robotic surveillance aircraft, but also
with non-U.S. remotely piloted armed assassins which, thanks to the
path Washington has blazed, need pay no attentionto anyone's national
sovereignty in a search for their version of 'bad guys' to destroy.
Just keep an eye on the news, because those numbers are only going to
rise. In fact, just this month they've gone up by at least one, thanks
to the decision of the Obama administration to sell surveillance
drones to the Iraqis (and it is evidently also preparing to arm
Italy's six Reaper drones with Hellfire missiles and bombs). Right
now, Washington is almost alone in launching drones at will in
countries ranging from Yemen tothe Philippines, but that won't last
long. Already we know that these wonder weapons, hailed like so many
previous wonder weapons as the ultimate answer to a military's
problems, as the only game in town, will kill many,but won't deliver
as promised.
Take Pakistan. Last week, among other attacks, a U.S. drone launched
two missiles at a bakeryin the North Waziristan tribal area, killing
(we are assured by ever-anonymous officials) four suspected "foreign"
militants "buying goods." (No information was available on the fate of
the baker, of course.) Strange to say, the Pakistani people, or at
least 97% of them, haven't taken as well as Washington might have
expected to its urge to launch endless drone attacks on their
territory, no matter what they or their parliament might say. Drones,
which have certainly killed their share of "bad guys" (and children)
in the Pakistani borderlands, have also managed to throw U.S.-Pakistan
relations into chaos, caused a surge of anti-Americanism, undoubtedly
created future blowback among the relatives of the dead.
Like most wonder weapons, drones have proven a distinctly mixed bag
for Washington wherever they have been used (though you wouldn't know
it from the press they get), but like most wonder weapons, not
delivering ultimate global victory or even victory on local
battlefields hasn't stopped them from proliferating. In search of the
perfect solution to impossible-to-win local and global wars,
Washington has ensured that drones will proliferate everywhere on
what, for all of us, will turn out to be the worst possible terms.
Assassination was once a complex, secret, shameful, difficult to
arrange, and relatively rare act of state. Now, it's as normal, easy,
and -- amazingly enough -- almost as open as sending a diplomat to
another country. Nick Turse, co-author (with me) of the first history
of drone warfare (2001-2050) Terminator Planet, suggests in his latest
post, "A Drone-Eat-Drone World," just why the drone has a remarkably
dismal future ahead of it and why that won't stop the dronification of
our planet for a second.
PHOTO CAPTION
A US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile stands on the tarmac
of Kandahar military airport in Afghanistan.
Source: commondreams.org - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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