Rules Of Engagement Will Soon Be Written As Software For Unmanned Drones

CREECH AFB, Nev. -- Ground crew watch as an MQ-9 Reaper moves out of its shelter at Creech AFB, Nev. June 25, 2008. Larger and more powerfull than the MQ-1B Predator, the Reaper can carry up to 3,750 pounds of laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles. The MQ-9 Reaper is assigned to the 42nd Attack Squadron, part of the 432d Wing and 432d Air Expeditionary Wing.(Photo by Steve Huckvale)

How Does a Terminator Know When to Not Terminate? -- Discover Magazine

In the skies above Afghanistan and along the roadsides of Iraq, unmanned military machines are changing the nature of combat. These robots may soon be making life-or-death decisions themselves.

On a scorching early afternoon in August 2007, Col. David “Diesel” Sullivan was doing his daily rounds at Creech Air Force Base outside Las Vegas when he got the call. A pilot under his command at the base, remotely flying an armed, unmanned MQ-9 Reaper aerial drone in eastern Afghanistan, had spotted four men perched on an Afghan hilltop. Were they Taliban? If so, they were perfectly placed to ambush an American raiding party just hours away.

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My Comment: It appears that the goal is to take out the human element in making decisions based on what are the rules of engagement, and giving that responsibility to a software program.

I am not impressed .... this is all about positioning oneself to not be responsible and/or accountable for a mistake.

The Captain's Journal Looks At British ROE During The Iraq War

British soldiers stand on guard before the handover ceremony in Iraq's southern province of Basra, Dec. 16, 2007. British troops transferred responsibility for security in Basra to Iraqi forces on Sunday. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Rules of Engagement: Letting the Enemy Go Free -- Captain's Journal

More than two years ago I outlined the calamity that British rules of engagement had caused to their campaign in Basra. The security situation began very well at the initiation of Operation Iraqi Freedom, but devolved into one in which the British were completely ineffective at fighting the insurgency and had evacuated their outposts and retreated to their largest base.

Due to leaked MoD papers we now know certain details directly from the British on just how hamstrung their troop were due to the ROE.

Despite fighting “the most sustained conflict since the Korean War”, the rules left troops with one hand tied behind their backs, the secret documents said. Ministers refused to change the rules although they caused “significant” casualties.

British soldiers were banned from opening fire unless the Iraqis were actually pointing their weapons at them.

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My Comment: I have to stop reading articles like this one .... my blood pressure always goes into the danger zone.