Table of Contents
Introduction A Predator Hunts for Bin Laden xiii
Section I Understanding Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Chapter 1 The Evolution of Killing from a Distance 3
Chapter 2 An Insatiable Appetite: Rise of the Robots 21
Chapter 3 The Machines 35
Chapter 4 The People 49
Chapter 5 The Missions 68
Chapter 6 The Methods 81
Section II A Spectrum of Responses to Killing with RPAs
Chapter 1 How Do We Kill with RPAs? 109
Chapter 2 How Do We Respond to Killing Remotely? 123
Chapter 3 Who Is Most Affected by Killing Remotely?: The Demographics 136
Section III All Topics Considered
Chapter 1 Are We at War? 151
Chapter 2 RPA and the Warrior Ethos 169
Chapter 3 Dehumanizing the Enemy Versus Intimacy with the Target 183
Chapter 4 Distance from the Target 201
Chapter 5 Sleep and Mental Armor 211
Chapter 6 Demands of Authority: Everyone's in the Cockpit 226
Chapter 7 Group Absolution: Killing as a Crew 241
Chapter 8 Target Attractiveness 257
Section IV Barriers, Help, and the Future
Chapter 1 The Video Game Comparison 275
Chapter 2 Culture 289
Chapter 3 A Toolbox of Best Practices 304
Chapter 4 Where Do We Go from Here?: Future Killer Robots 317
Acknowledgments 323
Bibliography 327
Index 333