[gdlr_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZn2y_tmP64″ ]
In the Bible (Galatians 6:7) there is a warning about the reciprocity of justice embodied in a person’s life: “Do not be deceived; God will not allow Himself to be mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will be what he reaps. A person reaps what he sows.”
In other words: “What goes around comes around”
Going around pretty regularly in the past few years have been ‘unmanned aircraft systems’ (UAS), a sanitizing euphemism for the new drone technology[1]. An on-going post-colonial war is being fought in the shadows against suspected terrorists residing in countries like, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalis, Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria and Mali. The drone technology is a sophisticated version of the ‘flying-bomb’ [2]concept developed by Nazi-Germany in the 1940’s. The weapons are useful for focused targeting, but used chronically, they become a terror weapon, which carries a continuous threat to a civilian population, because of its ‘strike anywhere at any time’ capability.
The drones are controlled via satellite and their pilots are usually thousands of miles away from the target area, safely guiding the attack in front of a computer screen. For the aggressors, this weapon system has all the characteristics of a ‘shoot ‘em- up’ computer game. The other attraction of the weaponry is its relative cheapness, its range and its capability of being used as a control system in conjunction with surveillance. Drone spotter-craft can watch out for any terrorist behaviour and then the controller can send in the punishment vehicles. This is the standard behavioural-change paradigm developed by the Operant-Conditioning psychologists of the 1950’s[3].
Of course, Governments are going to find it difficult to resist employing this drone weapon-system as an aid to its emergency services e.g. fire service, incident response, and of course it is tailor-made for the police in helping to maintain Law and Order at home[4].
The proposed used of drones commercially[5], completes the ‘going around’ part of the cycle.
The’ coming around’ part is provided by the threat of the use of drone technology by the terrorists. The targets of the drone attacks have the capability of striking back at their hunters. The technology is readily available, fairly simple to construct and economic. The sophisticated drone rockets are replaced by model aircraft and local radio control is substituted for the satellite computer links.
The return of the Grim-Reaper in another guise is now being taken seriously[6], and credible scenarios of this form of attack developed[7].
It seems that the capacity for surveillance and the targeted punishment of deviant behaviour is no longer restricted to any one particular cultural grouping.
[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9552547/The-air-force-men-who-fly-drones-in-Afghanistan-by-remote-control.html
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
[4] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/29/domestic-drones-unique-dangers
[5] http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/30/faa-approves-domestic-drones
[6] http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/FBI-Drone-like-toy-planes-in-bomb-plot-5383658.php?cmpid=twitter
[7] http://www.salon.com/2014/01/12/the_next_attack_an_explosive_stuffed_model_airplane_guided_by_gps/