Drone On

Trey Smith

If your main source of news is the mainstream media, you won't find much commentary about this nation's increased reliance on the use of drones throughout the world. In far too many instances, it's merely stated as a given; if the president says they are needed, then they must be needed.

There have been a few writers in the alternative press -- most notably Glenn Greenwald -- who continue to question the efficacy and morality of murdering scores of innocents via remote control. Greenwald, in particular, has kept on this ever growing story and the convoluted reasoning supplied by the Obama administration.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned very often is WHY the drone program has become this nation's go-to weapon of choice. To me, the answer is obvious: it creates, rather than destroys, terrorists!

We have known for some time that the military-industrial complex needs bogeymen with which to frighten the populace. As long as everyday citizens remain scared of a phantom menace, the war hawks can keep the money flowing. When the USSR fell apart and the Berlin Wall came down, many had hoped that we could finally cash in the peace dividend.

But, since that time, the elites have manufactured one bogeyman after another. It's uncanny. As soon as we defeat one straw man, another one pops up immediately.

And that's the beauty of the drone program. By slaughtering people all over the place, we are creating people set on revenge and, as long as there are individuals out there who want nothing more than to avenge the needless deaths of friends, relatives and countrymen, we have bogeymen that we must be protected from.