Drone attacks in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan have killed more than 3,500 armed extremists, including the Taliban chieftain Hakimullah Mehsud. (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”)
Before we go into the actual topic of this essay, let us have a look at the history of drones. In 1863 Charles Perley first designed a balloon to deliver weapons. 92 years later, the first reconnaissance drone was invented, which can be used to transmit low-pixel videos. (Darack) At the year of 1994, “RQ-1 Predator” was released by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. It can be used to collect atmospheric samples for research, and exterminate military targets (Darack). Last but not least, DJI Phantom 4 was recently created by DJI, which is a civilian-use drone, equipped with HD video camera, a large-capacity battery, and an advanced Vision Positioning system (“DJI Phantom 4 Camera Drone”).
As the word “drone” become more and more familiar with the people in the United States, US raise concerns on issues related to the use of military drones, many believed it is very dangerous to use drones in combat (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). But are these concerns necessary? However, it seems to me not. I believe that for the United States, using military drones has always been an effective, economical, and legal method of decimating enemies in combat missions (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”).
Many of you might wonder, what exactly is a drone? Something powerful enough to be used in war and combat? As found in the world most popular online dictionary-Dictionary.com, “a drone is an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight.” (“The Definition of Drone.”) It is also known as UAV-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“The Definition of UAV.”).
Using drones in combat missions helps to limit the breadth and range of military action (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the terrorists that cause the main threats to US are scattered in different countries (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). Invading Yemen, Somalia, or Pakistan to capture small terrorist clans, will cause many serious consequences (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). It will lead America to undertake responsibilities for disordering those governments, severe casualties (civilian), consenting to non-allies who view the United States as a pervading dictatorial power, US military casualties, and other unexpected outcomes (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”).” The eradication of Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan have resulted 12-year war. While using drones to accomplish this goal just need a small amount of money and manpower. (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”)
Drone operators have a lower probability of getting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than soldiers from the war and pilots of manned attack aircraft (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). Drone pilots will not experience direct contact with the battlefield, compared to manned aircraft pilots. They can also have a common life in the US, and hardly suffer from any injuries. (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”) As stated in ProCon.org, a famous online resource for research on controversial issues, active drone operators who are have high possibilities of getting PTSD, only take up 4% of the whole (drone pilots), while the soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have a relatively high percentage, almost 17% (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”).
Using drone strikes only engender more terrorists than they eliminate (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). People who saw their families and friends injured in a drone attack would have more incentive to join the forces that oppose the US (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). According to Jeremy Scahill, a famous investigative journalist, a lot of the armed extremists in Yemen are “people who are aggrieved by attacks on their homes that forced them to go out and fight.” The key operatives of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (where the drone strikes have happened) grew from 300 in 2009 to 700 in 2012, which have resulted a rapid increase of terrorist attacks in that region (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”).
Many drone operators have emotional and psychological stress (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). Despite that the drone pilots witness traumatic action scenes, they also face several unique problems: they lack the ability to differentiate combat mission and Individual personal life; experience endless hours of unitary work; suffer from conflicts made by guilt and regret over being an “unmanned aerial vehicle assassin”; and socially isolated during drone operations (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). These would be all, in which add to the susceptibility of PTSD (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”).
Though there are some costs of using drones in combat missions, but believe me, there will always be costs for everything, including the things that are great. And I can tell you that, using drones in battle serves great importance. Now let me eradicate the doubts of yours.
First, drone attacks make America more invulnerable by eliminating terrorist groups in every part of the world (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). As reported by ProCon.org, drone attacks have killed more than 3,500 armed extremists, including many senior commanders, who have involved in premeditate plots against the US. And on 1 Nov 2013, drone strikes exterminated the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud. (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”) So when it comes to combat missions, deploying drones in the battlefield can be an effective way in suppressing enemies. Drone attacks meet the efficiency, but are they legal?
Second, drone attacks are more economical than the combats engaged over-land and above the ground (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). As reported by procon.org, approximately $5 million of the Department of Defense budget has been allocated for drones in the year of 2012. Even if we combine the America’s entire drone program budget, it only takes up 1% of the entire annual military budget. (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”) You might ask why the manned aircraft cost so much money? As reported by the American Security Project, a non-partisan research organization dedicated to national security issues, four MQ-9 Reaper(drone) only cost $6.48mm to build, while one F-22 cost $185.73mm to build (“The US and its UAVs: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.”). We can clearly see that done strikes are cheaper than manned aerial strikes. Because manned aerial aircraft itself cost much more money than a drone (“The US and its UAVs: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.”). This could also be reason why the drones only cost 1% of the entire annual military budget (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). So using drones to decimate enemies save a lot of money.
Last but not least, Drone strikes are legal under US law and international law (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). UN Charter Article 51 points out that a country has its indigenous right to self-defense when it is being attacked (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”) Written by ProCon.org. The UN Charter Article 51 claims that a nation has the right to to self-defense when it has been or is being attacked, and the article 51 also applies if UN mandates the country to carry out the mission (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). Because on 9/11 US was being attacked by terrorists, terrorists coming from al Qaeda. So America has the right to self-defense. Furthermore, UN have also permitted United States to authorize the mission, including the agreement of 4 other countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia). (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”) So U.S. has the legal right to use drones in places like Afghanistan and Somalia.
Every door in the world has a key, and the key to let the world know the importance of drones is in your hands. Believe it or not, many of you have already started to use keys to open the mystery door to let others in. Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International is one of the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicating to the developments of unmanned aerial systems and robotic domains. It has more than 7500 joiners from government, and other organizations. (“Who is AUVSI.”) It pushes forward the development of unmanned aerial systems and robotic techs. (“Who is AUVSI.”) AUVSI held many events, including the Unmanned Systems Defense, and Xponetial 2017, which are all aimed to introduce the uber defense vehicles like UAV. The AUVSI made thousands of people change their opinion on drones, it made them realize the enormous advantage of using drones in combat. There are many organizations just like AUVSI in the world, aimed to advocate the use of drones. Join them or build them together!
Teenagers! Young Scholars! Are you too impatient to wait to make a difference? Here are some solutions. Become volunteers in sharing the advantages of using drones in combat missions, though websites like Quora and Zhihu (Chinese Quora). Give comments to topics related to drone strikes, or just create a topic by yourselves (The topic can be related to the advantages and disadvantages of using drones in combat missions). Support my opinion by sharing my essay, and post the essay on some distinguished websites (i.e. About.com, ProCon.org). Design a short video which is related to my topic, and share it on Facebook or YouTube. As you get more and more involved in advocating the use of drones in combat, the steps you take will affect your friend and family more or less. I strongly recommend you to set up an organization like AUVSI, or design an app that helps to introduce the incredible use of UAV in battle. No matter what you do, always keep in mind that constant dropping wears the stone.
Do you want your son to be enlisted and go to places like Afghanistan and Somalia? Do you want to see your country experience another “9/11”? Do you want to see the world in war and chaos? If not, you have to know that using drones in combat missions is one of the best ways for the United States to decimate enemies. However, some people still oppose this opinion by arguing that drone strikes violate the sovereignty of other countries (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). But evidences show that this statement is not reasonable at all. Because countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan have officially permitted US to carry out drone attacks within their country boarders, since those countries are incapable to govern the local terrorist factions (“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?”). Remember, it is effective, economical and legitimate for the United States to use drone strikes in combat missions. Go and inform others about the advantages of using drones in combat missions, it can be a short conversation with your friends or a moment on WeChat. Believe me, only you can make a difference to the world, only you can change other one’s opinions on the use of drones, and if you want to make a difference, take actions now!
Works Cited
Darack, Ed. “A Brief History of Unmanned Aircraft.” Air & Space Magazine. Air &
Space Magazine, 17 May 2011. Web. 17 May 2016.
“DJI phantom 4 camera drone.” Apple.com. Apple, 8 Apr. 2016. Web. 27 May 2016.
Jeremy Scahill, “Washington’s War in Yemen Backfires,” thenation.com.thenation.com,
14 May 2012. Web. 30 May 2016
“Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?” ProCon.org.
ProCon.org, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 May 2016.
“The Definition of Drone.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
“The Definition of UAV.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
“The US and its UAVs: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.” American Security Project. American
Security Project, 24 Jul. 2016. Web 27 May 2016.
“Who is AUVSI.” AUVSI Uniting Intelligent Technologies. Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International, n.d. Web. 25 May 2016.
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