clankers in the military?

KSUmarksman

why do I not like the idea of a robotic military?
(as based on what is being proposed as shown in a recent history channel program)

Granted we are nowhere near AIs and "terminator"...but there are other implications.

If your side does not bleed in wars, it becomes too tempting to adopt the illegal and immoral stance that wars of subjugation are perfectly OK...and that is a scary thought.
I believe it was General Grant who said "good thing that war is so terrible, lest we grow fond of it"

thesupermonkey

Say that to yourself the next time your on point.

War Pig Actual

Using robotics along with "smart weapons" will dehumanize war making it a more viable option. Once that occurs the peril and destruction associated with military conflict will be minimized making it subject to greater usage as a tool to resolve such conflicts. Within that, think of a war in the 20th century that didn't directly spawn another war.

KSUmarksman

quote:Originally posted by thesupermonkey
Say that to yourself the next time your on point.


tell me, if you had a disposable army of droids would you be moral enough not to invade a nation...let's say because of a trade dispute??

people like Eisenhower would be moral enough...but I doubt today's el-pollo-ticians have the backbone to negotiate when sending in a "throwaway" army is on the table [V]


personally I believe that the nuclear bomb was one of our greatest inventions...great powers can only push each other so far before all is lost in a nuclear exchange...and no leader of a great power is senseless enough to commit murder on such a scale

11b6r

KSU- SHAME on you!

That was Robert E. Lee !!!

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Notable Lee Quotes.htm

GuvamintCheese

I wonder if they will let gay robots in?

KSUmarksman

quote:Originally posted by 11b6r
KSU- SHAME on you!

That was Robert E. Lee !!!

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Notable Lee Quotes.htm


well I feel like a dumbarse [:(]

machine gun moran

Someone, and maybe it was Patton, said that he objected to the idea of an army of automatons because the best qualities of men, which he said included the willingness to make sacrifices, and bravery, were things that would never again be reaffirmed.

RtWngExtrmst

Every new generation of technology since the invention of the long bow has brought on predictions of the end of warfare.

dakotashooter2

quote:If your side does not bleed in wars, it becomes too tempting to adopt the illegal and immoral stance that wars of subjugation are perfectly OK.
I believe a similar and valid point was made in the original star trek series.

In the episode in question war was essentially a computer game except that the calculated casualties were euthanized by their own governments per a treaty of the two warring sides. Unfortunately it kept the war going on for 100s or 1000s of years.

chollagardens

[}:)]Another way to look at it is; Anti war liberials can off the pro military consertives, stay in power, and still have protection from the barbarian hordes.[}:)]

thesupermonkey

At first I was going to say this conversation was bit premature but then it dawned on me this is not a new conversation. Sure the technology changes but the point is the same, advancing weaponry and tactics to distance soldiers from battle and reduce casualties. I don't think we'll ever come to a point where our side 'does not bleed' as eventually the technology ends up on both sides of the field. Our own weaponry is currently being used against us in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas and while they're not quite up to the task of reconstructing a downed Apache, they've managed to do more than enough damage with what they have. The most powerful force on earth is not a weapon; it is the ability to adapt and the courage to die for a cause. For that reason, I can't help but respect an enemy comprised of relatively uneducated farmers and laborers who manage to plague the most powerfully equipped nation in the world.