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wwiii commented on the blog post The Drone War on Westphalia
But there’s a larger debate we need to be having. Our system of governance is changing, subtly but increasingly radically, with no discussion. Drones are one symptom and one catalyst of that. And before the consent of the governed is completely eliminated, it’d be nice to have a “public debate” about it.
Wonderful post, EW, but I am not sure that drones represent any particular qualitative change in the way our government or foreign policy works or in the way our government views other countries’ sovereignty. I think drones represent more the place evolution of technique has brought us in the last 60+ years. I doubt this country has had any qualms, at least on the Executive level, about interfering with another country’s government in the most drastic ways since Truman unilaterally sent troops into Korea and the CIA found its oats in the 1950′s. Installing the Shah on the throne in Iran, running Arbenz out of Guatemala, financing the Bay of Pigs, directing mercenaries and opposition parties in Laos, underwriting a couple of adventures in Indonesia, bombing Laos and Cambodia, organizing regime change in Chile, etc. Sure hasn’t paid to be a small or ill-equipped third world country since the last World War. They could listen to the US or else. And the CIA had the added advantage of answering only to the president–a lot of their official history is still classified. Moreover, they were relatively inexpensive (compared to sending in the troops) and their budget was off the books, as well. Secrecy has always been a wonderful thing if you are a member of the Executive. Drones appear to me to be just the latest development in our ongoing undeclared war against the rest of the world.
What I do think has changed dramatically to our system of governance that gets discussed hardly at all except on sites like this one are the structures that have been evolving internally in this country. I take it that that is what you are referring to wrt your references to drones as catalysts. Let’s see: connecting those structures with a hollow economy, corrupt leadership, heavy unemployment, dying infrastructure, resource mismanagement and a complete lack of civic compassion, what could go wrong with our future?
