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Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

theguardian.com

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Re: Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

#3

My fear about this particular case is that there was a drone operator who did this out of boredom or fatigue, and then there was a coverup.

Disclaimer: I am a gamer.

Putting 21 year old kids* brought up on video-games (esp the "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield" crop) all their lives in charge of drones with very video-game like setup and interactions sounds like a pretty good recipe for disaster[1].

* Yes, I know they are not all that young but I have seen photos in the news and I would be surprised if they were any older.

[1] "Scenario fulfillment" implicated in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

Re: Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

#4

My fear about this particular case is that there was a drone operator who did this out of boredom or fatigue, and then there was a coverup.

Disclaimer: I am a gamer. Putting 21 year old kids* brought up on video-games (esp the "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield" crop) all their lives in charge of drones with very video-game like setup and interactions sounds like a pretty good recipe for disaster[1]. * Yes, I know they are not all that young but I have seen photos in the news and I would be surprised if they were any older. [1] "Scenario fulfillment" implic…

> very video-game like setup and interactions sounds like a pretty good recipe for disaster[1].

The Iran Air disaster had nothing to do with "video games" and "21 year old kids". It was a case of mistaken identity during a very turbulent time in the region. I think it is a red herring to refer to that disaster when talking about drone strikes.

Re: Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

#6

My fear about this particular case is that there was a drone operator who did this out of boredom or fatigue, and then there was a coverup.

Disclaimer: I am a gamer. Putting 21 year old kids* brought up on video-games (esp the "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield" crop) all their lives in charge of drones with very video-game like setup and interactions sounds like a pretty good recipe for disaster[1]. * Yes, I know they are not all that young but I have seen photos in the news and I would be surprised if they were any older. [1] "Scenario fulfillment" implic…

I take it you didn't see this story then: http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201311/drone-uav-...

It was posted three days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6617732

Re: Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

#8

Can someone explain to me why this isn't classed as terrorism or murder when it's done by the US military?

because people of that region are worth far less. So less that they can't even classify this as a murder.

Re: Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

#9

My fear about this particular case is that there was a drone operator who did this out of boredom or fatigue, and then there was a coverup.

An interview with a former drone operator: http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201311/drone-uav-...

Re: Pakistani family of drone strike victim gives harrowing testimony to Congress

#10

Can someone explain to me why this isn't classed as terrorism or murder when it's done by the US military?

Do you believe the US is intentionally targeting civilians? If not, this war seems pretty similar to all wars.
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