Friday, August 3, 2012

A Philosopher Makes The Moral Case For U.S. Drones

MQ-9 Reaper. Wikipedia

The Philosopher Making The Moral Case For US Drones: 'There's No Downside' -- Rory Carroll, The Guardian

It's one of the US's most controversial policies; one that resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths overseas. So why does Bradley Strawser see targeted killing as a moral obligation?


At first sight, Bradley Strawser resembles a humanities professor from central casting. He has a beard, wears jeans, quotes Augustine and calls himself, only half in jest, a hippie. He opposes capital punishment and Guantánamo Bay, calls the Iraq invasion unjust and scorns neo-conservative foreign policy hawks. "Whatever a neocon is, I'm the opposite."

His office overlooks a placid campus in Monterey, an oasis of California sun and Pacific zephyrs, and he lives up the road in Carmel, a forested beauty spot with an arts colony aura. Strawser has published works on metaphysics and Plato and is especially fond of Immanuel Kant.

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My Comment: I personally do not object to drone strikes per se .... if you see an enemy combatant .... you take him out. And while I would prefer taking prisoners .... I am also aware that we do not live in a perfect world. Collateral damage and civilian casualties will always occur in a war zone .... the best that we can do is try our best to minimize it.

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