Waging War via Video Game Console

For some time now in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places the Pentagon has deployed drones as the weapon of choice. Just this past weekend a drone killed people in a Pakistani village. While the use of drones does keep American forces from exposure to enemy fire, the practice leaves much to be desired in terms of civilian casualties and of misdirected fire.

Pilots, who fly them from trailers halfway around the world using joysticks and computer screens, say some of the controls are clunky. For example, the missile-firing button sits dangerously close to the switch that shuts off the plane’s engines.

Imagine yourself at the console with your finger on the trigger. How can you be certain of your target? Are you willing to risk killing innocent civilians along the way? At the end of the day pilots go home to friends and families safe and secure in their own positions while the damage of the day is done. We are influencing people on a daily basis with the use of these weapons but we are winning no friends outside the military industrial complex.

The U.S. needs to reconsider its escalating use of force as the only solution to the world's problems. We must begin to consider the human beings on the receiving end of our attacks. Social and economic issues reign in daily lives for millions. Solutions to those issues will not be found in military action, but solutions to those issues may end terrorism around the globe.

Peace.