Joshua Foust: What We Misunderstand About Drones
In his latest piece in The Atlantic, ASP Fellow Joshua Foust discusses common misunderstandings about drones and the US drone program. The public dialogue surrounding drones has focused on the effectiveness and morality of drones as well as the Obama Administration’s counterterrorism policies.
These are important conversations to be having, to which I’d add some of the common misconceptions about drones. The first is that drones are cheap, and the second is that they’re replacing other forms of military operations.
Drones are costly to operate, there is little evidence that strikes are reducing the threat posed by al-Qaeda’s ideology despite decreasing the presence of the organization, and may contribute to further destabilizing the countries in which strikes are carried out.
The problem with drones is not the drones themselves, but the trend of killing first and asking questions later.
Read the full article here.
