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US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

theguardian.com

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Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#21

Post by InitialLastName »

dagav wrote: post #19
x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #2

I'm kind of over the whole "Look, we killed someone far, far, far away for dubious reasons with NEW technology" articles. These folks halfway across the world aren't bothering, nor do they actually threaten my freedom in any way shape or form.

They don't threaten your freedom, but they threaten the freedom of the people who live in the Middle East

I don't see them drone striking and assassinating the Emirs and Saudi royalty who are responsible much of the "freedom-limiting" activity in the Middle East though.

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#22

Post by wongarsu »

spamizbad wrote: post #4
x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #2

I'm kind of over the whole "Look, we killed someone far, far, far away for dubious reasons with NEW technology" articles. These folks halfway across the world aren't bothering, nor do they actually threaten my freedom in any way shape or form.

We have to fight them over there otherwise the alternative is armed radical militias in our streets (something that we definitely do not have anywhere in America at the moment) /s

Yeah, if we didn't make those people afraid of swift death from the sky they might grow to despise the US and start working to destroy it /s

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#23

Post by throwaway0a5e »

Pfhreak wrote: post #16
t413 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the headline seems to imply it’s some new ‘big bad’ where the article just slowly exposes that it’s a non-explosive missile. Killing fewer people by not combusting the surrounding area sounds like an improvement.

Doesn't that line of reasoning presuppose you need to be firing missiles into crowded areas? Rather than develop those missiles, what could be achieved by investing those millions into developing economies and relationships abroad?

I think it's more along the lines of you can hit a car or a meeting without decimating everything nearby.

It's the difference between sending an assassin and a suicide bomber.

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#24

Post by JumpCrisscross »

hirundo wrote: post #5

How long until the US is subject to this kind of targeted assassination? It doesn't seem that this tech is so inaccessible to state actors with billions to invest. There are sufficient such enemies. Is the Secret Service really confident that it can protect its charges from this kind of attack? I think they'll find that a drone missile can also be a boomerang. EDIT: The objections to this scenario are taking it more…

> until the US is subject to this kind of targeted assassination?

I suppose this depends on one's definition of "this kind."

The R9X is deployed from a massive drone platform. Using it on our homeland requires air superiority around the target. That's not, in the near term, a significant risk.

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#26

Post by throwaway0a5e »

hirundo wrote: post #5

How long until the US is subject to this kind of targeted assassination? It doesn't seem that this tech is so inaccessible to state actors with billions to invest. There are sufficient such enemies. Is the Secret Service really confident that it can protect its charges from this kind of attack? I think they'll find that a drone missile can also be a boomerang. EDIT: The objections to this scenario are taking it more…

Never because the US tightly controls its airspace. Targeted killings in the first world tend to make use of poisons and bullets.

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#27

Post by dagav »

InitialLastName wrote: post #21
dagav wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't threaten your freedom, but they threaten the freedom of the people who live in the Middle East

I don't see them drone striking and assassinating the Emirs and Saudi royalty who are responsible much of the "freedom-limiting" activity in the Middle East though.

Do you realize you're defending al-Qaeda?

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#28

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

hirundo wrote: post #5

How long until the US is subject to this kind of targeted assassination? It doesn't seem that this tech is so inaccessible to state actors with billions to invest. There are sufficient such enemies. Is the Secret Service really confident that it can protect its charges from this kind of attack? I think they'll find that a drone missile can also be a boomerang. EDIT: The objections to this scenario are taking it more…

Let's analyze what it would take to make your scenario work: some state actor is going to fly a drone or aircraft with the range to reach the US (launched from where?), past any radars and other sensors that the continental US has without being detected (and then fly back out even), drop a specialized munition that leaves large, analyzable debris behind, and somehow not be identified to face reprisal. That is exceedingly unlikely.

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#29

Post by mkane848 »

hirundo wrote: post #5

How long until the US is subject to this kind of targeted assassination? It doesn't seem that this tech is so inaccessible to state actors with billions to invest. There are sufficient such enemies. Is the Secret Service really confident that it can protect its charges from this kind of attack? I think they'll find that a drone missile can also be a boomerang. EDIT: The objections to this scenario are taking it more…

> Is the Secret Service really confident that it can protect its charges from this kind of attack?

Yes. Our military is pretty confident that it can handle any form of missile/flying object trying to reach US soil before its an issue, which is part of why we feel pretty much zero repercussions for being terrible.

Re: US military increasingly using drone missile with flying blades in Syria

#30

Post by liability »

dagav wrote: post #19
x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #2

I'm kind of over the whole "Look, we killed someone far, far, far away for dubious reasons with NEW technology" articles. These folks halfway across the world aren't bothering, nor do they actually threaten my freedom in any way shape or form.

They don't threaten your freedom, but they threaten the freedom of the people who live in the Middle East

Why should we believe that? Why do you believe that? Who is to say the people targeted have affiliations to the organizations claimed? The US federal government has little credibility. Usually we demand they back up their assertions in court before they're believed. Courts exist because we know governments lie, so how can you be so confident here?
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