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Trump announced Friday he plans to sell Reaper armed drones into the Middle East. It ranks among the dumbest, most dangerous ideas he has come up with.
Next week I will introduce legislation to stop these sales.
1/ A THREAD on why Congress must stop the export of armed drones.
Next week I will introduce legislation to stop these sales.
1/ A THREAD on why Congress must stop the export of armed drones.
2/ American war making has become very dependent on the Reaper and Predator drones. Why risk soldiers' lives if you can kill from the sky?
The problem? The overly enthusiastic use of these drones ends up creating more problems than its solves.
The problem? The overly enthusiastic use of these drones ends up creating more problems than its solves.
3/ For instance, one report found that 90% of kills in Afghanistan in 2012/13 were the wrong person.
Another study showed that the use of U.S. killer drones in Pakistan likely spurred terrorist group recruitment. For every bad guy we killed, we created three more.
Another study showed that the use of U.S. killer drones in Pakistan likely spurred terrorist group recruitment. For every bad guy we killed, we created three more.
4/ Luckily, a decades-old agreement called the Missile Technology Control Regime makes sure that at the very least this kind of technology can't be sold internationally.
More generally, the deal has prevented other deadly weapons from being sold to Iran and North Korea.
More generally, the deal has prevented other deadly weapons from being sold to Iran and North Korea.
5/ But Trump so badly wants to sell weaponized drones to places like Saudi Arabia and UAE that he is willing to blow up the deal.
If he does this, it dramatically scales up the Middle East arms race (and allows the Saudis to more effectively kill civilians in the Yemen War).
If he does this, it dramatically scales up the Middle East arms race (and allows the Saudis to more effectively kill civilians in the Yemen War).
6/ And by violating the deal, it makes it a lot easier for other nations to sell missile technology to our enemies without consequence. If the U.S. isn't complying, why should anyone else?
That's terrible for long term U.S. national security interests.
That's terrible for long term U.S. national security interests.
7/ Trump will say China isn't in the deal, and they sell these kind of drones so we should be able to do it too.
That's false logic. Our drones are far superior, and we should never be selling arms into dangerous places just because we want to make a few American companies rich.
That's false logic. Our drones are far superior, and we should never be selling arms into dangerous places just because we want to make a few American companies rich.
8/ Next week I will introduce a bill to ban weaponized drone sales and make this arms control agreement binding U.S. law.
If Congress doesn't do something now, it might be impossible to put this arms agreement back in place once Trump is gone.
If Congress doesn't do something now, it might be impossible to put this arms agreement back in place once Trump is gone.
