Rules Of Engagement Will Soon Be Written As Software For Unmanned Drones

CREECH AFB, Nev. -- Ground crew watch as an MQ-9 Reaper moves out of its shelter at Creech AFB, Nev. June 25, 2008. Larger and more powerfull than the MQ-1B Predator, the Reaper can carry up to 3,750 pounds of laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles. The MQ-9 Reaper is assigned to the 42nd Attack Squadron, part of the 432d Wing and 432d Air Expeditionary Wing.(Photo by Steve Huckvale)

How Does a Terminator Know When to Not Terminate? -- Discover Magazine

In the skies above Afghanistan and along the roadsides of Iraq, unmanned military machines are changing the nature of combat. These robots may soon be making life-or-death decisions themselves.

On a scorching early afternoon in August 2007, Col. David “Diesel” Sullivan was doing his daily rounds at Creech Air Force Base outside Las Vegas when he got the call. A pilot under his command at the base, remotely flying an armed, unmanned MQ-9 Reaper aerial drone in eastern Afghanistan, had spotted four men perched on an Afghan hilltop. Were they Taliban? If so, they were perfectly placed to ambush an American raiding party just hours away.

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My Comment: It appears that the goal is to take out the human element in making decisions based on what are the rules of engagement, and giving that responsibility to a software program.

I am not impressed .... this is all about positioning oneself to not be responsible and/or accountable for a mistake.