When will the U.S. drone war end?

[n2doc]

By Paul D. Miller, Published: November 17

The next president of the United States needs to answer this question: When, and under what conditions, will the U.S. government stop using drones to bomb suspected terrorists around the world?

The drone program — assuming the media and think-tank coverage of it is basically true, and this piece should not be construed as confirming the existence of the program — is a tactical and technological innovation that has been invaluable in the war against al-Qaeda. Cost-effective, increasingly precise and surgical, it is almost the archetype of sterile, risk-free, push-button warfare, which the U.S. military has dreamed of for a generation.


But bombing by drone is also an act of war that kills people. And wars are supposed to end. They have to have an end. Endless war is unacceptable and dangerous. The U.S. government simply cannot arrogate the right to wage an endless, global war against anyone it deems a threat to national security. The prospect of such a war should trouble anyone who has the least acquaintance with history or political philosophy.

After U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a September drone attack, the ACLU’s deputy legal director rightly said, “It is a mistake to invest the President — any President — with the unreviewable power to kill any American whom he deems to present a threat to the country.”

The point is simple: That power will corrupt those who would wield it.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-will-the-us-drone-war-end/2011/11/15/gIQAZ677VN_story.html

[Freddie Stubbs]

1. When there are no more terrorists left

[woo me with science]

2. Not with the 2012 candidates, that's for sure. nt

[peace13]

3. Never.....sadly! n/t

[HopeHoops]

4. When Congress critters stop receiving so much money from the defense contractors.

Oh, right - that's "never".

[woo me with science]

5. Kick. nt

[mwrguy]

6. When we get a real progressive in the white house.

Don't hold your breath.

[progressoid]

7. This is just the beginning.

Its a new war paradigm.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. When the MIC successfully bankrupts the country buying war toys.

[The Straight Story]

9. Looks like Frodo didn't drop the ring in to the fire.... (nt)