Is the use of drones terrorism?

Christopher Bouchard

Professor Shirk

POL:357

4/23/2017

Is the use of drone’s terrorism?

            The use of drones has been a controversial topic the last couple of years.  Drones have been used increasingly in the past couple of years due to their tactical ability in the battlefield.  But many have scrutinized the use of drones by the United States calling them no better than the terrorists that they aim to combat with these drone strikes.  I argue that the use of drones by the United States is not terrorism though.

            The United States’ use of drones in combat is not terrorism.  For starters, we have discussed in class if it is possible for a state to commit terrorism.  And in most aspects, I believe that a state engaging in a war cannot commit terrorism.  The argument here by opposing countries and nations is that the use of drones is terrorism by the United States for several different reasons.  There is the reversal argument by nations and people alike that say that if America had drones constantly flying around the area either doing recon or surveillance or striking down enemies of the opposing state then we would classify it as terrorism and immediate demand the removal of them.  The very idea of this is thought provoking to make those in the United States consider themselves in other people’s shoes and to imagine what it’s like to see a drone in the air and not know what is going to happen next.  The very image of these drones in the air can cause fear and terror on those that see them.  Some would ask how is this not terrorism when the very sight of something can instill fear and terror into a population.  Another argument that opposition brings up is that these drone strikes kill hundreds of innocent civilians.  More than even regular air craft have in fact.  Now this is where the gray area of these drones comes into place.  When the operators of the drones try to track done the specific sim card of an individual than sometimes they end up killing who they think is their target but in realty their target has lent their phone to a friend of theirs or has swapped sim cards with another person.  And when you combine these two things how can it not be considered terrorism?

            That I argue is depends on the reason of use for force and the intentions of the use of these drones.  America would not even be in the middle east using these drones if it were not for the terrorist attacks that take place around the world and where these terrorists train their new recruits as well as carry out attacks.  So, in this aspect I do not see America as the aggressor in this war.  And this war on terror is exactly what needs to be combated to prevent even further innocent casualties.  I also would like to look at the intended use of the drones.  The intend use of these drones is not to instill fear and terror into hundreds, thousands, or millions of people.  But rather to eliminate enemy combatants on the battlefield from a strategic and tactical advantage.  Sometimes these operations go array for various reasons but terror and fear is not what the purpose of these attacks are supposed to cause, like the main purpose of terrorist attacks around the globe.  They also do not specifically target civilians.  Sometimes in these air strikes civilians do get caught in the crossfire and are unfortunately killed.  But the same could be said about airstrikes and artillery strikes through the ages. 

            While the use of these drones is a hot topic and they are, controversial I believe that America’s use of these drones cannot be considered terrorism in the traditional sense.  They might spread fear and terror but only to those in which the United States deems as their aggressors.