There has been significant media coverage on the two Western hostages recently killed during a US drone strike against al-Qaeda. What has not received nearly as much coverage is the incalculable number of innocents that the US has similarly killed. What President Obama calls "targeted killings" have actually annihilated vastly more people than those targeted. As of Nov. 2014, such strikes against 41 terrorists have resulted in roughly 1,147 deaths. There is no estimate, however, of the number driven to fear and hate the US. A UN official has posited such US actions may constitute war crimes.
The rapid pace of technological advancement throws a lot of our conventional understanding of war into confusion. There doesn't seem to be enforceable consensus on the question of drones just yet.
There has been significant media coverage on the two Western hostages recently killed during a US drone strike against al-Qaeda. What has not received nearly as much coverage is the incalculable number of innocents that the US has similarly killed. What President Obama calls "targeted killings" have actually annihilated vastly more people than those targeted. As of Nov. 2014, such strikes against 41 terrorists have resulted in roughly 1,147 deaths. There is no estimate, however, of the number driven to fear and hate the US. A UN official has posited such US actions may constitute war crimes.
The rapid pace of technological advancement throws a lot of our conventional understanding of war into confusion. There doesn't seem to be enforceable consensus on the question of drones just yet.