On Killing Remotely
The Psychology of Killing with Drones
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- $ 59.900,00
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- $ 59.900,00
Descripción editorial
A “can’t-miss for anyone interested in current military affairs,” On Killing Remotely reveals and explores the costs—to individual soldiers and to society—of the way we wage war today (Kirkus Reviews, starred).
Throughout history society has determined specific rules of engagement between adversaries in armed conflict. With advances in technology, from armor to in the Middle Ages to nerve gas in World War I to weapons of mass destruction in our own time, the rules have constantly evolved. Today, when killing the enemy can seem palpably risk-free and tantamount to playing a violent video game, what constitutes warfare? What is the effect of remote combat on individual soldiers? And what are the unforeseen repercussions that could affect us all?
Lt Col Wayne Phelps, former commander of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft unit, addresses these questions and many others as he tells the story of the men and women of today’s “chair force.” Exploring the ethics of remote military engagement, the misconceptions about PTSD among RPA operators, and the specter of military weaponry controlled by robots, his book is an urgent and compelling reminder that it should always be difficult to kill another human being lest we risk losing what makes us human.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Military veterans Phelps and Grossman (On Killing) deliver an in-depth yet uneven exploration of the psychological toll of drone warfare on the crewmembers of remotely piloted aircraft, or RPA. Drawing on surveys and interviews with RPA personnel, the authors argue that while drones seem to be a much cheaper and more convenient option for the military, the cost "is paid by the employee's mental health as opposed to the employer's dollar." They describe how RPA crewmembers, many of whom live in the U.S. and work long hours in isolated shifts, become "emotionally invested" in their missions, despite their physical distance from the scene of combat, and suffer from PTSD and sleep deprivation. The authors also discuss how RPA crewmembers deal with the collective responsibility of killing, and note that one squadron refused to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda imam with American citizenship, because they considered the order illegal. (Al-Awlaki was later killed in a CIA-directed drone strike.) Alternating between dry, acronym-heavy jargon and jocular phrasing ("this isn't your granddaddy's war"), Phelps and Grossman sidestep accusations that drone strikes are "indiscriminate, illegal, and immoral killings," but convincingly argue that RPA crews deserve the respect and consideration afforded to frontline soldiers. This well-intentioned study misfires.
