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POLITICIZING A TRAGEDY?

Is It Fair to Compare the Sandy Hook Shooting to Drone Attacks?

One pundit thinks so

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by PolitixMayday

Staff Writer t

Image: AP

176 children have been killed in Pakistan by US drones since Obama took the oath of office. Are those deaths in any way comparable to the ones at Sandy Hook? That's the question asked by Reason's Brian Doherty.

Sandy Hook and drone strikes share one similarity: mechanized killings. The differences, Doherty concedes, are important: one is fighting against terrorists targeting Americans. The other was just an exercise in horror.

But in the minds of anti-drone activists, Doherty writes, the death of children by drone strike is so tragic and unnecessary, it makes the deaths comparable to a gratuitous mass murder.

Drone technology has granted the military the ability to attack terrorists and al-Qaeda affiliates that it wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. But while the use of drones has made the killing of terror suspects easier, it has also made collateral damage, i.e. the killing of civilians including children, far more common.

Comparing the death of children in Sandy Hooks to those in Pakistan and beyond is clearly "politicizing the tragedy," as Doherty puts it; but that's also the point: to draw attention to a difficult issue at a moment of sensitivity.

Via Reason
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Is it fair to compare the death of children in drone strikes to the deaths at Sandy Hook?

Comments (view in Forum)

  • o
    thejimbo
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    Part of it is that Americans can see their own kids as victims of a SH type attack, but not a drone attack.

    But if the media were staging week-long coverage of child drone victims, far more people would be up in arms about it. A lot of people simply don't know it's going on.

    The MSM truly is a horrible force in this society at this time. They're not at Pravda level quite yet but they're getting awfully close. And the sickening thing is, they're doing it willingly.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    In some ways the drone attacks are worse. Those who operate the drones plan to kill cold bloodedly, with full mental awareness of what they are doing. They know it is wrong, that innocent people will die, are in contol of themselves, and kill anyway. That wasn't the case with the Newton killer. Who was mentally unbalanced, snapped one day, and went off on a killing spree. Not excusing his actions, but he did not have an entire apparatus of dozens of people helping to plan cold blooded nurder in advance. Worse part, the drones located the target. Forces could infiltrate the area and get them in a manner less likely to harm civilians, they choose not to.
  • MBernard
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    I am thinking the same thing. It is fair to make that comparison. children being killed here and children being killed over there is the same murderous act being committed whether each has different means of doing it.
  • MBernard
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    @Neo_NtheMatrix who said we are not mad? children are being killed unnecessary all over the world makes every one mad. All we have to do is look closer to home to realize the seriousness of the issue.
  • Neo_NtheMatrix
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    @MBernard - When Bush was in office, you guys were rioting out in the streets. I don't hear a peep out of you now. I guess since the Messiah is in the White House no one has anything to say. I think obama is a bloodthirsty war monger. He will get away with his crimes of war because liberals will protect him at all costs.
  • MBernard
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    @Neo_NtheMatrix dude, I don't know about you but I have a conscience. When something is wrong, it's simply wrong no matter who did it.
  • View all 11 replies >
  • texas_cutie75
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    This may ruffle some feathers, however, war always brings the death of innocent bystanders. Women, children, and the elderly have died in every battle on the face of the earth since the beginning of time. The difference here is those piloting the drones can see on the screen who is going to be stricken. It must be a devasting spot to be in for those pilots. Now before y'all start in in me, I have numerous friends that are active duty military pilots and spouses. As well as a father who flew in Vietnam for several tours, the images of what they have seen NEVER go away!!

    The drones are not like the the Sandy Hook shooting. That was a mentally ill person trying to make his presence known in one the most horrifying ways possible.
  • PNWest
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    I think it is disgusting for people to criticize in any way the brave soldiers that control these drone strikes. They know they aren't playing a video game. Their decisions are ending lives. They do so not out of hate but to protect our country from people who wish us harm. To compare their good work with the actions of a lunatic mass murderer is offensive.
  • Neo_NtheMatrix
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    We could capture terrorists and waterboard them for information. No children would die in that scenario. In fact, we'd probably save lives.
  • MBernard
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    @PNWest I think you're missing the point. It's not about brave soldiers or a mentally ill crazy lunatic, it's about children being killed. You still can't support children being killed unnecessarily anywhere no matter how or what it's done for.
  • View all 16 replies >
  • PoliticalSpice
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    The u.s. taxpayers, with cinas loans, have been killing innocent civilians, women and children for over a decade now, so in a sense yes. The murder rained down on innocent children in pakistan by those drones is no less evil, in a way more so, then the tragedy in Newton. I say more so cause this guy is a wacko that flipped out, those who murder innocents in pakistan know exactly what they are doing.
  • o
    woodtick57
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    @PoliticalSpice

    Again, if you are living with, aiding and abetting known terrorists, you are complicit in their actions. The parents that raise their kids their are complicit in their deaths.

    Many, many people have left those areas of Pakistan becasue they knew they were taken over by these terrorist groups.
  • morphine-bunni
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    jus because theyr parents may (or may not) have been associated with questionable people doesn't make it okay to kill children ! not everyone in the middle east is a terrorist. there have been thousands of completely INNOCENT people slaughtered during this rediculous war.
  • Heavy-Fed
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    MOST DEFINITELY!!! Killing children is wrong no matter how it's done!!!!! American children are no better or worse than any other child in the world. Your child is always the most important... but everyone is someones child.
  • PNWest
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    The drones strikes are not done at random. The military goes to a great deal of trouble to try to make sure that the collateral damage is as small as it can be. Yes innocent civilians are getting killed but that is always going to be the case in times of war. There is a vast difference between a lunatic deliberately killing innocent people and these drone strikes. What a ridiculous comparison.
  • PNWest
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    @Heavy-Fed No - they targeted an American terrorist and made the decision to do so even though the 16 year old kid was with him. The terrorist knew he was being targeted and is fully responsible for putting his child in harms way. If he loved the kid and knew that this was a possibility he shouldn't have had the kid with him.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    The drone strikes are murder, pure and simple. They know the location of the targets, they could send in soldiers to attack. Instead they choose a method that will kill innocents. The u.s. deserves to be put on trial for war crimes.
  • PNWest
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    @PoliticalSpice We disagree on this. I've said it before and I'll say it again. US Lives come first. Sending in foot soldiers would only put them in harms way. Civilians would die anyway. They always do in war.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @PNWest and when civilians die in war it still violates international law, espesially when steps that could prevent the deaths are not taken. If the u.s. doesn't think a target is worth risking u.s. soldiers to go after, then that target is not worth murdering innocent children over. The drone strikes are cowardly murder, and if you think they are sparing the u.s. from death you are fooling yourself. There will be terrorist attacks in revenge, a person who loses a loved one will come here and kill. There have already been attempts.
  • View all 21 replies >
  • Heavy-Fed
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    "The differences, Doherty concedes, are important: one is fighting against terrorists targeting Americans. The other was just an exercise in horror."---------- I think CLEARLY anything involving the murder of a child is an exercise in horror.
  • u
    KyleMFb
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    To me it's not a "fair" comparison those kids in Pakistan should think about not keeping company with "terrorists" but those kids in sandy hook were just more casualties of americain capitalism and entitled crazy white people
  • Bobolinsky
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    Pssst....(hey doves... there's a democrat in the White House who has a "Kill List" for which drones are a preferred method of accomplishing the "kill"... you might want to hold off on the Sandy Hook comparison since that would compare President Obama with Adam Lanza... just sayin')
  • o
    Sonny
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    Fighting a war is nasty, messy, and ----many innocent people do indeed get killed. But to compare that to what this monster did in Sandy Hook, is not accurate to say the least. For starters---a drone strike does not set out to kill a child. That is NOT the mission of our Armed Forces, fighting over there. The murderer in Sandy Hook did indeed intend to kill children...That WAS his purpose and goal....I suspect that much of this ridiculous "comparison" is coming from those who want us out of that war (as do I) in the first place. But an intentional killing of children versus our war efforts are not even close to the same thing.
  • DARSB
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    I see far more difference than likeness. Here's one: The point of Sandy Hook was to kill children. The point of drone strikes is to only kill terrorists.
  • Neo_NtheMatrix
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    Liberals gave Bush absolutely no leeway in regards to Iraq and Afghanistan when he was in office. Now that the Messiah is in office the same liberals are making up all kinds of excuses to protect him.

    Murder is murder, and children are children. I want every single person who has a child to pull out a picture of them and imagine the pain that parents in Afghanistan and Pakistan are going through. The drone attacks must be ended immediately, and obama should be impeached!
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @neo_nthematrix you see this is why I do not support either party, as @woodtick points out, the dems all voted for the war. The refusal of Hillary to admit she was wrong abd apologize for doing so is the major reason she lost the primaries to obama. The fact he had been against it from the begining separated him from the feild enough that he became nominee in 2004.

    Unfotunately, as president of the u.s. he has continued it's bloodthirsty policies, had ron paul been nominated I very likely would have voted for a repub president for the first time in my life, but no one else running was even talking about less war, romney was talking about going after iran in a way i found irresponsible at best, those were the choices i had, i picked from bad choices the one i preferred. On war this guy gets no more leeway from me then bush did. They are both war criminals who deserve to be sitting next to each other in the Hauge.
  • martydotcom
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    Unfair!!! A drone strike is intended to kill those dedicated to killing us, our service personnel and our way of life. No American intentionally kills/ targets a child. That act would render us to the same level of a terrorist. Comparing an act of war to the act of a deranged person is an insult to everyone who has served this country. I protest the fact this site has though it worthy of discussion
  • u
    Jim49418
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    I dont think it's a fair comparison. The only thing they have in common is the tragic loss of innocent children. Other than that, there are no comparison's.
    The children of Sandy Hook were murdered by one crazy person acting on his own.
    The children in Pakistan are living in towns, and homes that are harboring terrorists.
    I strongly doubt that any of our drone pilot's would pull the trigger if they were aware that there were children in the target zone.
  • twinertia
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    Oh, it's MORE than fair; it's just that we'll fool ourselves and rationalize it away. Pure hypocrisy. "Dead kids in our backyard: it's a travesty!" "Dead kids a world away: hey, get with OUR program, or there's more comin'!"
  • Post Removed by Moderators
  •
    harold_lloyd
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    "it has also made collateral damage, i.e. the killing of civilians including children, far more common. "
    No, it has not. That's a stupid thing to say.
    What is true is that collateral damage, i.e. killing children, is much more visible
    because every explosion happens on camera.
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