In 2003 as the USA began it's military adventure into Iraq, only a handful of pilotless drones were in the arsenal of the US military. Today, there are over 7,000 drones in operation around the globe. In addition, the liberation force in Iraq possessed no unmanned ground vehicles whatsoever, but today they now exploit the use of more than 12,000 unmanned ground vehicles used for various purposes. One is called the "PackBot," and is made by the manufacturers of the home vacuum cleaner robot sold as the "Roomba."

President Obama seems rather committed to the idea of drone warfare, officially hitting targets on publicly acknowledged missions, and covertly hitting targets in places like Pakistan, where the administration refuses to either acknowledge or deny such missions. Jane Mayer of "The New Yorker," states “The intelligence agency declines to provide any information to the public about where it operates, how it selects targets, who is in charge, or how many people have been killed.”

The New American Foundation, quoted by Mayer in "The New Yorker," states Obama has authorized at a minimum 41 CIA missile strikes, or about one a week, that may have killed more than 500 people. This is a pace that has Obama authorizing more Predator drone strikes in Pakistan in 10 months, than G.W. Bush authorized the last three years of his administration.

Make no mistake, these are sanctioned, internationally targeted killings. The line is blurred between simply going to work, and actually going to war. With robotics, a "pilot" of a pilotless drone can vaporize people on the other side of the world, and then drive home to have dinner with the family, just like any other nine to five job. This conflation of going to work/war, is loaded with ethical dilemmas and dangers. P.W. Singer, author of the book "Wired for War," states “We are at a breaking point in history. The U.S. Air Force this year will train more unmanned system pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined. And, as Bill Gates has noted, "robotics are now where computers were back in 1980.”

When robots are tomorrow’s veterans, does war become more likely and more endless? Do drones cow enemies with America’s technological prowess or embolden them to think America is not man enough to fight? What is the psychological toll on video-screen warriors?

A public debate should begin about how new technologies beg for ethical examination, and the efficacy of their use, when it is appropriate, and when it should not be tolerated. Where do you come down on the subject?

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