Drone
warfare is one of the greatest inventions of civilization. It has allowed us to
take Anwar Awalaki out (One of the top Al-Qaeda operatives) with least
collateral damage and minimal revenge multiplier. However, the abuse of drone
warfare has gone too far….. We don’t like the terrorist killing innocent men
and women. Why should they like us when their innocents are being killed? We
need to find responsible people to man these machines and have them go through
frequent psychiatric evaluations, if they are distressed – Mike Ghouse, continued at: http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-morality-of-drone-warfare/

Drone warfare. It’s become a major new way
to fight battles. Except those doing the fighting may be in a cubicle in a town
here in the United States. In fact, the chances are they will be working here,
far from the battlefield.

Of course, the good news is the soldiers
operating the drones are not in harm’s way. Nor are they spending months, if
not years, away from their families in a distant country.

But they are using the advances in
technology to track and kill people halfway around the world. This new form of
warfare has raised a number of moral questions. This collection of posts from
Andrew Sullivan on the subject provides an insight into some issues in play.
And here is another link worth
looking at from the Wall Street Journal.

Also, the Journal reported
this week in a front-page article that there is not much international law on
this subject. That vacuum matters in numerous ways, but especially when it
comes to determining whether we are actually declaring war on nations that only
tacitly give us approval to use drones in their countries.

I am not looking for applications of
international law here, but I would like to hear how your faith informs your
thinking about drone

strikes. So, here’s this week’s question:

What moral issues, if any, give you pause about
drone warfare?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

The morality of
drone warfare becomes justifiable when its purpose is to remove the specific
cancerous cells, and prevent damage to the fabric of the society at large.

We have a
responsibility to protect each other from the ones bent on hurting us. This
responsibility comes with the obligation to guard ourselves from holding the
line and not becoming evil ourselves. We instead need to prevent the evil.

Drone warfare is one
of the greatest inventions of civilization. It has allowed us to take Anwar
Awalaki out (One of the top Al-Qaeda operatives) with least collateral damage
and minimal revenge multiplier. No significant group has shed tears for this
man.

No matter where we
go, the people want justice, which simply means removal of the individual
criminal, without slapping the blame on his political or religious affiliations,
and family members or friends. Let’s not forget, the Muslims did not protest or
demonstrate against his killing. Osama Bin Laden was gone, but his wife was
respectfully left alone. This is one of the greatest successes we need to build
on in our foreign policy ideals: Blame and get the bad guys, but do not torch
others.

However, the abuse
of drone warfare has gone too far. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
estimates the minimum civilian death toll to be 447 during the campaign. It
must be condemned vigorously, and corrected instantly. We don’t like the
terrorist killing innocent men and women. Why should they like us when their
innocents are being killed.

The president said
on CNN, “It has to be a target that is authorized by our laws, it has to be a threat
that is serious and not speculative, and it has to be a situation in which we
can’t capture the individual before they move forward on some sort of
operational plot against the United States.” That is indeed a good policy
worthy of implementation.

We need to find
responsible people to man these machines and have them go through frequent
psychiatric evaluations, if they are distressed. We need to take them out
before they drown us in the abyss of immorality. Civilians are not game animals
to be targeted.

As Americans we need
to set high standards of morality and live by it. At the least, we need to
prevent other nations from developing the drones and abusing them. What if we
are the targets?