Scary stuff, man.

Though the tone of Sparrow's "Predators or Plowshares?" article was cautionary as it explained UAVs, it was also very frighting because the way it discussed them made it clear they were a reality that we need to be aware of and work around to ensure safety. I think part of the reason why these UAVs can be so dangerous is because our society hasn't accepted them as something that exists in our world. There is no going back to the past methods of warfare - these new technologies are here, being used and will only continue to proliferate and advance. The author of the article notes this and asserts that we need to govern and regulate these programs because they are a big unknown currently. Though the article goes through pro/con arguments, the issue isn't really about whether or not we approve of this new type of warfare - many do not - yet it is a reality we face. The New York Times article by Jane Mayer states "The program is classified as covert, and the intelligence agency declines to provide any information to the public about where it operates, how it selects targets, who is in charge, or how many people have been killed." This is a horrifying fact but it also makes me wonder whether or not this information, if released, would be actively sought out by the public. I know I like to think it is something I want to be aware of, but after a while I could see us being desensitized to that information because there is nothing we can do with it. Without transparency, the public feels shunned and assumes the worst of what they do not know, though I don't think there would be anything to do with the drone statistics. I do agree with Sparrow, as I'm sure many do, that it is time to wake up and realize this type of warfare is in our present and we need to regulate sooner rather than later.