Use of Drones Requires Debate/Discussion

The debate and discussion on the use of drones as well as their use to go after individuals, US citizens or not, needs to occur. There also needs to be discussion about the existence and use of kill lists, with decisions to target people being made by a few people in authority. There are many people who see no problem with any of this and who believe this is war and the way it works - kind of an anything goes view of war. But there are others, myself included, who have serious questions about the new weapons and their use.

This is part of a changing technological world that we all live in. Every day people struggle to figure out new ethical standards ranging from individual privacy, organizational privacy, our use of social media, employment law and the use of information we all have access to or that we may receive. The difference with drones is the extinction of life with both brutal accuracy and the potential for horrible mistakes.

The debate has not been robust and the media has not necessarily done its job in helping to force or focus the discussion. The confirmation hearings on both John Brennan and Chuck Hagel have brought the issue a bit more into the light. It looks like possibly more people will be following up.

The process for determining how decisions are made, including the maintenance of kill lists should be troubling to people who really think about the issue for any length of time. We're looking at a different type of weaponry as well as a different type of war. The genie is out of this box relative to drones. Others will use the technology and at some point we'll be dealing with drones over our country, controlled by our government or others. So, lets make sure the debate takes place and that people really think through and publicly discuss all of the issues related to drones and their use.