re: #99 Obdicut

Um, you mean vs. troops on the ground, or a plane in the air?

Well, to make it a fair comparison, a plane.

re: #101 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

On the flip side, their is zero chance of loosing your own men in a drone attack.

True enough. Unless one has a heart attack from too many Twinkies, it’s pretty damn safe for our boys.

If it were possible to make this point without reference to or sympathy for Cindy Sheehan, I do think robots/RC drones extend even further the mental/emotional distance between shooter and target. When there is no risk of losing soldiers, it becomes alot easier to order aggressive acts. That part makes me a bit uneasy, to be honest. (Once again, if this places me in agreement with Ms. Sheehan, it does so only for this strictly limited point.)

Rocks -> swords -> guns -> planes -> R/C planes

The “progress” of war has tended inexorably toward depersonalization of killing, and I don’t think it’s all good. I’m glad it increases the likelihood of my friends coming home intact, but it’s a mixed bag, imo.