The American public complains about the right to privacy all the time. Americans, usually rightfully so, claim their right to privacy and their right to live a safe, secure life without fear of attack or unnecessary surveillance. We rarely wonder though about the rights of those outside of our nation. We rarely quip over the privacy and security of civilians in “enemy” territory. Yet the U.S. is in possession of 8,000 drones and, according to a recent CNN article, the U.S. army has a “robust plan” for using drones more and more in the future. Where is the uproar to match this measure of disgrace? Where is the passion so many Americans pour into the gun control debate or their hate of an American politician? I don’t know, but I do know that there is something supremely immoral about this situation.
Drones are described as unmanned aerial vehicles. Basically, they are little planes that are operated by someone firmly on the ground. Drones are used for two main purposes: to support troops and scope out any potential threats, and to survey and fire missiles into “enemy” territory.
While drones help to keep American troops safe, firing missiles isn’t exactly a fair game to play. Drone missiles can kill from a great distance, often destroying infrastructure in civilian land and killing innocent men, women and children.
Since 2004 in Pakistan alone, The New American Foundation estimates that between 1,953 and 3,279 people have been killed. An estimated 18 to 23 percent of those killed in drone strikes were not militants. Only 2 percent of those killed were high level targets.
Also, it is common for targets to be people who have communicated with terrorists. Parents, spouses and children are killed very often for talking to their suspected-terrorist family member.
In addition, drone strikes do not give people the right to defend themselves. When an unmanned aerial vehicle is able to fire missiles from miles away, those who are guilty do not have the right to a trial by jury. This privilege, which most Americans will defend as a basic human right, is grossly denied.
But we are ignoring it. President Obama acknowledges the existence of drone strikes (which was a surprise in itself) and condones their use. The president told CNN that “a target must meet ‘very tight and very strict standards,’ and … that in ‘exceedingly rare’ cases, civilians have been ‘accidentally injured, or worse, killed in these strikes.'”
But according to a study done by the law schools at Stanford and New York University, the “dominant narrative” that drone strikes are “surgically precise and effective” is false. CNN reported that the study found that “the strikes have killed far more people than the United States has acknowledged, traumatized innocent people and largely been ineffective.”
Moral of the story: If we, as Americans, practice what we preach, it’s time to take a stand against drone strikes. I understand that drones are helping to keep our military men and women safe now, but what happens when other countries follow our lead? What happens when the use of drones as surveillance becomes popular here on the home front? Don’t let privacy and “innocent until proven guilty” become a fixture of the past.
