The Changing Face of War

Impact of Drones On Society and Warfare

Technology, society and global dominance (cultural, economic and military)

Background

Singapore has recently invested in High Speed Aerial Target Drones

United States has been using drones in Pakistan and other countries to assassinate “terrorist leaders.”

The use of armed drones by the United States in Afghanistan and Pakistan has increased massively, with 131 drone strikes reported in northwest Pakistan alone since 2004, of which a quarter took place in the first five months of 2010.

Analysis by an American think tank The Brookings Institution on drone attacks in Pakistan has shown that for every militant leader killed, 10 civilians also have died.

What are Drones?

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

• Controlled from the ground or autonomous following a pre-programmed mission

• Used for combat, reconnaissance and surveillance purposes

Interesting Points

‘Technology generally evolves much more quickly

than the laws of war.’ (P.W. Singer - Brookings Institution)

1. Laws of war has not caught up with technology

No precedent or rule exists for the placement of responsibility

Militaries operate with little heed to the actual consequences

Keith Shurtleff, an army chaplain and ethics instructor at Fort Jackson, South Carolina worries “that as war becomes safer and easier, as soldiers are removed from the horrors of war and see the enemy not as humans but as blips on a screen, there is very real danger of losing the deterrent that such horrors provide.”

Noel Sharkey, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

at the University of Sheffield highlights: ‘The further away you

are, the easier it is to kill…it’s changing the nature of war

dramatically’

2.Society’s changing view of war and bloodshed

• “Sanitising” the act of killing

• Society and soldiers desensitized to the costs and effects of war

• War and bloodshed = entertainment?

3. Potential economic implications

• Growth of military-industrial complex

• Defense contractors grow in power and influence

4. How drone warfare affects the current political distribution of power

• Manpower used to be significant in determining the power of a military or a nation

• Technological and financial capacity are now determinants of a powerful military force

5. Risk to society

• Vulnerable to loss of signal or a power surge

• Vulnerable to exploitation like hacking.

Key Takeaways

Key takeaway messages

“The idea that slick, new weapons will solve human conflict is an old and enduring myth. In truth, violence will not bring an end to violence.”

Drone warfare’s newly impersonal qualities may change our view of war or change the world’s balance of power as we know it

Personal Ratings

Thought provoking and relevant article that effectively summarizes the several issues with drone warfare

Issues For Discussion

•Drones do have advantages in warfare, however does that make the usage of drones in war acceptable?

•What kind of law should be put in place with regards to drone combatants?

Issues for discussion

References

• http://www.for.org.uk/files/PB8WEB.pdf

• http://triplehelixblog.com/2011/01/law-and-technology-the-changing-face-of-war-and-its-legal-ramifications/

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/08/afghanistan-drones-defence-killing

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/16/drones-unmanned-aircraft