What is the moral difference between a drone, IED or a suicide bomber?

Morality of:

1. Drones--The US (us) is expending billions of tax dollars on developing various robotacized weapons systems to be used on land and in space. Drones are the best known of these weapons. What is particularly ominous about them is that they are being tested for use by our militarized big city police departments. Ask any Palestinian how terrifying these things are when used even for "just" surveillance, let alone the bombing they perpetrate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc. Even now, our troops are becoming cyborgs, with all kinds of enhancements to their ability to kill, and this will continue. We Americans need to SHUT DOWN THE WAR MACHINE once and for all.

2. IEDs--If some alien army invaded the USA, many Americans would be fashioning Improvised Explosive Devices to kill those aliens, and feel darned patriotic in doing so. In Iraq, WE are the aliens, and patriotic Iraqis are trying hard to kill as many of our soldiers as they can, again, as we would do if we were in their shoes. Moral.

3. Suicide bombers--What I find immoral about Muslims who become suicide bombers is that killing innocent people (particularly other Muslims) is anti-Islam, a blasphemy. On the other hand, as Peter Ustinov once said "War is the terrorism of the rich. Terrorism is the war of the poor." When a Muslim or Christian Palestinian blows himself or herself up and takes down Jewish Israelis, even women and children, however, these are not innocents, since virtually every Israeli Jew is expected to grow up and become a soldier, even women. While I personally object to violence as the route toward justice, I cannot condemn a suicide bomber in that situation, especially when Israel rains missiles, rockets, artillery shells, and bullets upon Palestinians nearly every day.

I'd welcome comments from people who disagree with my comments.

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Chicago-Midwest

Thomas F. Saffold November 6, 2011 at 8:53pm

Morality of:

1. Drones--The US (us) is expending billions of tax dollars on developing various robotacized weapons systems to be used on land and in space. Drones are the best known of these weapons. What is particularly ominous about them is that they are being tested for use by our militarized big city police departments. Ask any Palestinian how terrifying these things are when used even for "just" surveillance, let alone the bombing they perpetrate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc. Even now, our troops are becoming cyborgs, with all kinds of enhancements to their ability to kill, and this will continue. We Americans need to SHUT DOWN THE WAR MACHINE once and for all.

2. IEDs--If some alien army invaded the USA, many Americans would be fashioning Improvised Explosive Devices to kill those aliens, and feel darned patriotic in doing so. In Iraq, WE are the aliens, and patriotic Iraqis are trying hard to kill as many of our soldiers as they can, again, as we would do if we were in their shoes. Moral.

3. Suicide bombers--What I find immoral about Muslims who become suicide bombers is that killing innocent people (particularly other Muslims) is anti-Islam, a blasphemy. On the other hand, as Peter Ustinov once said "War is the terrorism of the rich. Terrorism is the war of the poor." When a Muslim or Christian Palestinian blows himself or herself up and takes down Jewish Israelis, even women and children, however, these are not innocents, since virtually every Israeli Jew is expected to grow up and become a soldier, even women. While I personally object to violence as the route toward justice, I cannot condemn a suicide bomber in that situation, especially when Israel rains missiles, rockets, artillery shells, and bullets upon Palestinians nearly every day.

I'd welcome comments from people who disagree with my comments.

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