From Debatepedia
What are the pros and cons of drone operations?
|
Background and Context of Debate:
|
Ethics: Can pilotless airplanes be morally justified?
|
Pro
- "Pilotless aircraft can hit targets without placing a pilot in harm's way." [The Economist, "Droning on", April 2010]
|
Con
- Killing civilians. Attacks on civilian sites (if they had not been so commandeered) "may constitute war crimes. (...) On June 23rd 2009, for example, an attack on a funeral in South Waziristan killed 80 non-combatants." [The Economist, "Droning on", April 2010]
|
Efficiency: Are drone operations crucial for military success?
|
Pro
- They are useful for assassinations. "On February 17th [2010], for example, Sheikh Mansoor, an al-Qaeda leader in the Pakistani district of North Waziristan, was killed by a drone-borne Hellfire." [The Economist, "Droning on", April 2010]
|
Con
- They are counterproductive. Errors, such as accidental bombing of civilian sites, "are not only tragic, but also counterproductive. Sympathetic local politicians will be embarrassed and previously neutral non-combatants may take the enemy's side." [The Economist, "Droning on", April 2010]
|
Write Subquestion here...
|
Pro
Click "edit" and write arguments here
|
Con
Click "edit" and write arguments here
|
See also
External links and resources:
|
