DER SPIEGEL HAS SEVERAL GOOD COLUMNS ON DRONES
Interview with Defense Expert P.W. Singer
‘The Soldiers Call It War Porn’
US defense expert P.W. Singer from the Brookings Institution talks to SPIEGEL ONLINE about the stresses that drone pilots are subjected to and the risk of emotional exhaustion and burnout. The whole experience of war is being changed by the new technology, he argues. more…
Interview with a Drone Pilot
‘It Is Not a Video Game’
US Major Bryan Callahan is a pilot. But while he sits in front of a monitor in America, his plane is flying over Afghanistan. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he speaks about what flying drones is like, the difficulties of waging war in shifts and the daily stresses of his job. more…
‘Finger of God’
The German Army’s Enthusiasm for Drones
For a long time the German army in Afghanistan only used drones to spy on the Taliban. But since German officers experienced their potentially lethal impact in a strike last year, they have been enthusiastic about these silent, airborne weapons. By Matthias Gebauer more…
In the Crosshairs
How al-Qaida & Co. Are Responding to Drone Warfare
Militant jihadists in Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia are becoming increasingly afraid of US drones. Despites their boasts of having shot down dozens of aircraft, they have yet to come up with effective countermeasures. By Yassin Musharbash more…
Putting Islamabad in a Tight Spot
How the CIA Uses Pakistan as a Launch Pad for Drones
Pakistan may be the epicenter of the CIA’s drone war against the Taliban, but there is massive resistance to the campaign from the Pakistani population. The US is forcing Islamabad to perform a difficult balancing act. By Hasnain Kazim in Islamabad more…
The Debate on Push-Button War
Are Drones Worth Their Drawbacks?
Although the United States’ drone war has succeeded in killing a number of terrorist leaders, many worry that the price in civilian casualties is too high and its ultimate effectiveness too illusory. But that isn’t stopping the Obama administration from expanding the project’s activities and increasing its funding. By Gregor Peter Schmitz in Washington more…
Remote Warriors
How Drone Pilots Wage War
Drone pilots sit in air-conditioned rooms far away from the anti-terror wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They guide their weapons systems with joysticks and monitors. The remote warriors work with a high degree of precision — and at a fraction of the cost of a fighter jet. By Marc Pitzke in New York more…
Killer App
Drones Are Lynchpin of Obama’s War on Terror
CIA drones are killing terrorists — and civilians — in Pakistan almost every day. The unmanned aircraft are becoming the weapon of choice in the fight against al-Qaida and its allies. But the political, military and moral consequences are incalculable. SPIEGEL ONLINE has investigated Barack Obama’s remote-controlled campaign against terrorism. By SPIEGEL ONLINE Staff more…
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