TO THE relief of commanders and the dismay of pacifists, Germany’s armed forces have crossed a threshold. On June 13th a Bundestag committee voted to approve the spending of nearly €1bn ($1.1bn) to lease from Israel five drones which can be equipped with deadly weapons. Hitherto Germany has been the only big Western country not to buy “killer robots”. In part this reflects antipathy to America’s use of remotely controlled missiles for “targeted killings” of terrorist suspects (and the people standing next to them) in places like Pakistan and Yemen.
The Israeli order does not instantly change that situation: the machines are described as “weaponisable” but not “weaponised”. A new decision will be needed to endow them with destructive power. However, critics and supporters feel their eventual use in combat is almost certain. In the words of Ulrike Franke, a German expert on unmanned aircraft, “It would be absurd to pay for the use of these expensive drones and then not to arm...Continue reading
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