Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 319 posts

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#191

Post by avianlyric »

igravious wrote: post #162
zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #154

Notice the wording - the drone targeted the workers. The drone didn’t make a decision and target the workers, the drone pilot targeted the workers, and whomever was standing behind them gave the order to launch the missle. The whole “I’m just doing what the computer said” defense only works in movies.

Imagine being the person (even if you had little personal autonomy in the matter) who pulled the trigger or pressed the button. Imagine finding out what you had done. Would it break you?

We don’t need to imagine. There’s a number of good articles featuring interviews with drone operators asking this exact question.

It’s as bleak and distressing as you can imagine. Here’s a couple to get you started:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/18/life-as-a-dron...

https://dronecenter.bard.edu/burdens-war-crews-drone-aircraf...

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#192

Post by megous »

whiddershins wrote: post #126
wruza wrote: post #2

Now imagine “U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in France” and feel the difference (which is non-existent). Then it goes on tv and reads the list of this morning’s evil men who must be stopped.

Now imagine “France knowingly harbors 911 terrorists.” “French leaders take credit for car bombing which kills 23 civilians.” There’s a historical reason for this discrepancy.

Afghanistan didn't do that, taliban did.

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#193

Post by whiddershins »

alpb wrote: post #143
whiddershins wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just stop. Absolutely stop equating these things. The world as we know it, the progress in art, science, and humanities. The cures for polio, infant mortality and poverty dropping. The website you are currently using to spread poison. Those are all “_What USA does_” Cut it out with this evil language.

I think the downvotes you got speak for itself. I am not even gonna bother answering. Also USA has some of the highest infant mortality and poverty rates in the western world.

Oh, right ... America bashing is popular therefore it is righteous.

It’s so fashionable to hate America, that must make it true.

Why do you work for an American company then?

Hypocrisy. Absolute disgusting hypocrisy every time.

The role of America’s military in maintain a relatively peaceful world is unpopular, but has prevented a Third World War thus far.

Every decade there is less war and violent death than the one before, because of the use of United States military power. It’s true, and it’s so effective some people naively think it can be somehow done away with.

These people don’t live in the real world.

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#194

Post by cies »

throwaway66920 wrote: post #188
cies wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or Yemenis kill 30 Saudi date farm workers in Saud. Or, God forbid, Iran kills 30 Saudis in Saud. We've been exposed to so much propaganda that we instinctively know what is "worse", and who is "allowed" to kill without due process.

I think you’re conflating morally worse with practically worse. It’s not propaganda to note that certain countries attacking each other spell out graver consequences

That fact that you distinguish between morally worse and "practically worse" make me thing you are already under the influence of the propaganda.

But it does not mean you are right: Afganistan cannot attack the US over 30 dead civillians, the US can attack Iran for some Saudi property destruction by Yemenis who are being raped by Saudi using US weaponery on them.

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#195

Post by zaroth »

divbyzer0 wrote: post #57
gcatalfamo wrote: post #14

This is how you create terrorists. What do you think the children and friends feelings towards the US will be from now on? People get radicalized for much less than that.

Comparing the reactions between this (seemlingly little) reported incident, and the attack on Saudi oil facilites (zero fatalities) is an interesting exercise. edit: added word 'Saudi'

Do you think it might have something to do with one attack reducing the nut harvesting capacity of that town by 50%, versus the other reducing the oil output of Saudi Arabia by 50%?

Or maybe because one was a tactical op gone horribly wrong based on bad intel from the ground, and the other was a well planned and highly coordinated strategic op designed to destabilize international markets?

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#196

Post by chrshawkes »

michaelmrose wrote: post #56
golergka wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How many "error's" does the US make? Usually it's measured in the ratio of civilian casualties to combatants, and as far as I remember, US is keeping this ratio exceptionally low in comparison to other conflicts. That's the key point here: your criticism applies to any war at all. War is hell, everybody knows that. To be objective in your judgement about US though, you have to quantatively compare different conflic…

Nobody whose family got blown up cares about one thing that you just typed.

Unfortunately, neither do many Americans who have been affected by terrorism as well (majority most likely). I'm not saying that's how I feel, but I don't think it's going out on a limb to say that it's probably true.

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#197

Post by TeMPOraL »

amaranth wrote: post #190
JCharante wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which movie was that?

Sounds like Eagle Eye, movie didn't do well but I thought it was a fun watch at least.

Eagle Eye indeed. Sorry for spoilers, the AI revelation was in the middle of the movie.

I found the movie fun, I think I watched it three times over the last couple years.

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#198

Post by mothsonasloth »

Alexander and his successors tried to hold Afghanistan but they failed after three centuries.

The Mongols tried and failed.

The Arabs tried and failed.

The Mughals tried and failed.

The British tried and failed.

The Soviets tried and failed.

NATO tried and......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasions_of_Afghanistan

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#199

Post by [deleted] »

brosinante wrote: post #142
whiddershins wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now imagine “France knowingly harbors 911 terrorists.” “French leaders take credit for car bombing which kills 23 civilians.” There’s a historical reason for this discrepancy.

The US "knowingly harbored" nazi war criminals.

[deleted]

Re: U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

#200

Post by TeMPOraL »

oh_sigh wrote: post #175
TeMPOraL wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh they are in the loop, even if they don't see it. This is how religion is used to get people to do things. You can read anything you like from a religious book; you'll find justification for anything if you comb for quotes enough. This makes religion a glue, or an amplifier, not a prescriber of behavior. Consider Christianity - the religion that gave us half of what's nice about the Western culture. That same relig…

Doesn't Western culture look back on Roman and especially Greek times as their founding myth?

It does, that's why I said "half of" not "everything". The Western culture is built as much on Roman and Greek legacy as it is on Christianity in Europe. So e.g. while a lot of classical literature is Greek/Roman, classical art and music is mostly from Christianity (and usually religious or semi-religious in nature).
Post reply on HN