The temptation of remote-controlled killing

Posted on: Feb. 13th, 2006 || Source: slate.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

On Nov. 2, 2003, Iraqi insurgents shot down a helicopter full of U.S. troops near Fallujah, killing 16 soldiers and wounding more than 20. It was the worst loss of American life since the declared end of the invasion. Within days, two polls showed that the public, which had previously approved of President Bush's handling of Iraq, now disapproved. The war was in trouble.

On Jan. 13, 2006, a U.S. Predator aircraft fired laser-guided missiles into three houses in northwest Pakistan. The target, al-Qaida deputy boss Ayman al-Zawahiri, wasn't there. Instead the missiles reportedly killed two of his commanders and 12 to 18 civilians, including women and children. Prior to the attack, most Americans approved of Bush's handling of terrorism. What happened to the polls afterward? Nothing.

Why the difference? It can't be the body count; roughly the same number of people died in each incident. It can't be mission failure; missing Zawahiri and killing all those civilians embarrassed our government and provoked demonstrations in Pakistan. The difference was the nationality of the dead. No Americans were killed aboard the Predator, and none could have been, because none were there. The Predator is a drone, a remote-controlled killing machine.

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