Monday, June 13, 2011

“Lockheed Martin Developing Ninja Robots”


OK..It’s a little off topic, but I just couldn’t resist this one. I know what you’re thinking: this article reads more like something out of a Marvel comic book rather than the Christian Science Monitor, but I assure you it’s real. While our over-the-top technological advancements may provide some short-lived humor, they represent a more serious issue regarding international law and our country’s disregard for it. Now I’m not saying that Lockheed’s robots are going to use their super-human ninja skills to violate the laws of war, but I am suggesting that throughout history the United States’ government has had a tendency to overlook international law for the sake of "defense."

This brings me to the topic of today’s blog: the UCAV. Otherwise known as the “combat drone,” this undetectable killer is capable of dropping guided 2,000 lb bombs at the press of a button. What’s the best part? The Air Force gave them cool super villain names like “Sabre Warrior” and “Hunter-Killer.” And it’s only fitting that UCAV operators are basically trained on video games much like those played on an X-box or Playstation. Unfortunately, the targets are live people, not digital images.


I’m sure that we have all become familiar with the headlines, “Heavy Civilian Casualties After Drone Attacks,” or “US Drone Strikes Kill Many in Pakistan,” and this is not ok. The United Nations even released a report stating that "the number of [civilian] deaths attributed to pro-government forces marginally exceeds that caused by anti-government forces” — basically acknowledging that the United States and NATO-led forces are responsible for an alarming increase in casualties resulting from drone attacks.

If the heightened death toll from combat drones doesn’t shock you, their egregious violation of international law will. In 2010 United Nations investigator on extrajudicial killings, Philip Alston, issued a 29-page report on the lack of rules or safeguards for drones. Alston also noted the absent data on drone related deaths and called on CIA operators to prove that they have attempted to capture or incapacitate suspects without killing them. Unfortunately, the intelligence community has done little to address the issue of drone killings or their breach of international law. The Pentagon continues to make drone warfare a top budgetary and strategic priority for the coming years.

For a further reading on the use of drones, check out this moving poem called, “Of Hawks and Drones,” written by NAPF President David Krieger.

4 comments:

  1. Ninja weapons are one of the most smartest weapons of all times. Ninjas were smart and witty people and a single weapon of theirs would be used for lots of purposes. The most famous real ninja weapons are Ninja swords and throwing stars.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Throwing stars are also known as Shurikens and are one of the smartest weapons ever designed by the Ninjas. The Ninjas were one of the smartest and cunning species ever to set foot on this entire planet. They used these throwing stars to evade their enemies or to carry out stealthy acts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Throwing ninja stars are also known as Ninja stars and as Shurikens in the Japanese language. They were used by the clever Ninjas of Japan to trick and evade their enemy. The most popular throwing stars are Bo Shurikens, Manji Shurikens, and the Harigata Shurikens.

    ReplyDelete
  4. training within the dragon realm is training that allows us to have the tools, traits, qualities, and ability to be successful in society. How to Lache

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...