State of the Union address was shaped by hidden force: drones

Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 13 2013 12:00 a.m. MST

This undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows a MQ-9 Reaper, armed with GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided munitions and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, piloted by Col. Lex Turner during a combat mission over southern Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt, AP

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Summary

Obama's State of the Union address had undertones of drone warfare despite the fact that he never used the word "drones."

According to William Saletan in an article for Slate, “Obamas war-free State of the Union address was shaped by a hidden force: drones.” Saletan claims that although President Obama never used the word “drones” in his address, the fact that the Obama administration embraces drone warfare took the focus off military concerns and allowed the president to focus on different domestic challenges instead.

President Obama never used the worddronesin hisState of the Union address. But drones were all over it. Theyre the unspoken force that is shaping his agenda.

A minute into the speech, Obama reported, After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. Thats all the president had to say about foreign affairs for the next 38 minutes. And it wasnt even about going somewhere. It was about returning.

Whos coming home? Our people. Whos taking their place? Machines. By outsourcing our global police work to remotely piloted aircraft, Obama was able to spend almost his entire speech talking about domestic challenges instead.

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the old switcharoo

mesa, AZ

Cruise missiles, aircraft carriers, thousands of nuclear warheads and 747's with giant lasers on them.

There's lot of weapon systems not mentioned that are just as deadly and effective in projecting power and fear. Drones are More..

8:43 a.m. Feb. 15, 2013
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