With drones from the beginning there has been a kind of technological determinism associated with the idea that since the United States possesses this relatively new technology it should use it. Facing the uncertainty of reelection, President Obama became so concerned about the lawlessness of his drone killings he sought hastily to codify the rules governing their use. What began in the Bush era as a means for targeting al Qaeda leaders hiding in remote areas has become a vast "amorphous" death machine targeting suspected "militants" in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan. Now we've learned that, in addition to "personality strikes" aimed at individuals deemed enemies of the United States, there are now what's called "signature strikes" where any congregation of suspicious looking military-age men is open game. The Obama administration apparently views drones as the cheapest and easiest way to kill "militants" while keeping American casualties low to non-existent. This seeming techno-supremacy has the added political benefit of getting around a war-weary electorate. But future presidents might not quibble about using drones as judiciously as our current president claims to be, hence his rush to clarify the rules of engagement. But possessing new tools of warfare doesn't mean they should be used. The U.S. has chemical weapons and an arsenal of hydrogen bombs but those technologies (sane people agree) should be left on the shelf. Drones are no different. We mustn't allow global drone warfare to become the "new normal." Sadly, the drone killings of U.S. citizens abroad might end up being one of President Obama's most lasting legacies. The former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told a military audience before leaving office that any future president who sends ground troops into a situation like Afghanistan should "have his head examined." The constant drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, are breeding hatred, creating new enemies where none existed, and costing more lives than otherwise would be the case. Anyone seeing drones as a solution to the problem of international terrorism should also "have his head examined." We've become numbed to the death and destruction that U.S. military and CIA actions have ushered in since 9/11. These days the American people seem less capable of being shocked, which is why Fox News's obsession with milking the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi (and the "war on terror" generally) for partisan gain has gone nowhere. After years of invasion and occupation, aerial bombardment, and resistance taking the form of car bombs, suicide bombers, IEDs, and "green on blue" attacks killing countless innocent people the drones fit into this larger cycle of violence. Drone warfare is a moral failure because it terrorizes entire populations and kills innocent people. more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/drone-warfare-ban_b_2200415.html