When The U.S. Shoots, A Human Should Be Pulling The Trigger By Conor Friedersdorf

TheAtlantic.com December 14, 2012 DeM Banter: what could possibly go wrong? You know this is coming...and think of all the money we could save is pay, benefits, training, now, roll in some of the culture issues mentioned below, and wow...brilliant! Time to invest in some cyberwarfare thingamabobs. .... Weapons systems that fire autonomously are the …

American Drones Ignite New Arms Race From Gaza To Iran To China

DeM Banter: really at some point I will let this go...probably wont happen today though... huffingtonpost.com / Nov 28th 2012 WASHINGTON -- The drone wars are here. While President Obama ponders new legal and moral guidelines to govern America's growing use of armed robot aircraft, the world outside the White House is engaged in a …

What I’ve Learned: Leon Panetta By Cal Fussman

DeM Banter: interesting interview from Esquire with the SECDEF... Esquire January 2013 'Could I imagine a world without cursing? Hell, no!' Secretary of Defense, 74, Arlington, Virginia Panetta served eight terms in Congress and later became President Clinton's chief of staff. He was director of the CIA from 2009 through 2011, a period that included …

Iran Says It Can Make Copy Of Captured CIA Drone By Ali Akbar Dareini

DeM Banter: LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Even if Iran is bluffing, I am sure there is someone out there willing to assist in their effort...and I ponder if they are looking for a stealth deliver system for some of their new toys? Just a thought...oh and note: they are "exporting its domestically manufactured drones to …

British drones may strike pirate boats by Telegraph, telegraph.co.uk

DeM Banter: drones as pirate hunters for the Royal Navy...interestinger and interestinger.... December 4th 2012 Plans to deploy drones at sea might be ready early next year but some of the proposals will probably be kept secret, the Government has said. The aircraft, which can stay airborne for much longer than planes and fly almost …

America’s Covert Drone War Is Out Of Control By Gideon Rachman

DeM Banter: Interesting comments from our allies in the UK. It is curious that more people aren't talking about this... I just keep pondering the next 5-10 years, proliferation, cyberwar, and what things will look like. This genie is NOT going back in the bottle... Financial Times December 11, 2012 Pg. 9 What is worse? …

Gutting US Defense The other fiscal-cliff fallout By Arthur Herman

DeM Banter: hummmm, not like we didn't see this coming. Wonder how it will all come to rest? Always interesting to watch... New York Post December 10, 2012 Pg. 29 While President Obama and Republicans fight over tax hikes and entitlements, another part of the fiscal cliff goes undiscussed — even though they’re supposedly in …

Another Secretive Drone Set For Space By W.J. Hennigan

DeM Banter: Death Star? Los Angeles Times December 11, 2012 Pg. B4 Air Force offers few details about mission, the third launch of an X-37B craft into orbit. An experimental robotic space plane developed for the Air Force is slated to be launched Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Fla., fueling an ongoing mystery about its hush-hush …

Reflections On Teaching Military History By Cory Franklin

DeM Banter: but we all know..."Miley Cyrus flaunts her Hannah Montanas with racy outfit at Hollywood concert..." Is it a school/education issue or a matter of what the society or culture values? Thoughts? Chicago Tribune December 9, 2012 Pg. 28 Seventy-one years ago this month, Japan launched an aerial assault on the U.S. fleet in …