Unmanned: Drones, Data, and the Illusion of Perfect Warfare

Intelligence expert Arkin (American Coup) argues that the digital revolution, combined with a reluctance to suffer casualties, is ushering in what military planners see as "perfect"%E2%80%94endless, casualty-free%E2%80%94warfare in this ingenious, if depressing, work. The U.S. military's use of drones is burgeoning, yet of America's more than 11,000 drones, only about 5% are of the large, armed "Predator-style" variety. An obsession with information technology has produced a zoo of "unarmed aerial vehicles" (UAVs) that includes everything from the 15-oz. Wasp Micro Air Vehicle to the seven-ton Global Hawk. Arkin also points out that "88 other nations operate drones," with over 90% of drones worldwide being "small, short-ranged, and unarmed." Meanwhile, the need for fighting personnel has shrunk as the need for civilian data analysts has grown. Thanks to "increasingly infinite stockpiles of data," high-value targets can be tracked almost anywhere, and since "the Data Machine doesn't care where it is fighting," Arkin insists that we must contemplates the "cost to society and humanity for even operating in this seemingly near-perfect way." Readers will have to navigate a minefield of technical details, acronyms, and political and military infighting, but Arkin makes worthwhile the effort of understanding both the extensive transformations modern militaries are experiencing and their far-from-perfect consequences. [em](Aug.) [/em]