Drones! What are they good for? Fox News' Charles Krauthammer & Black Ops II?

One UAV down. One to go. 

Coffee Beans
Drones! What are they good for?

According to Charles Krauthammer, a Fox News contributor, drones are good for hunting bad guys overseas, but should not be flying overhead in U.S. skies. At least, that's what he thought last year in a segment he participated in on Fox News.

If you play Call of Duty: Black Ops II, you might find other reasons drones are good.

What do I find drones, or UAVs as they are called in Black Ops II, good for and do I agree with Mr. Krauthammer's initial statement last year on the issue of drones flying in the U.S.? Brew yourself some coffee, take a look, and watch a video I edited together on the topic!

The Brew
Basic drones, or UAVs , in Black Ops II are used to show one team (or, perhaps player) where enemies on the other team are on the radar. There is also a Counter-UAV in the game, which makes the radar fuzzy and not of any use while it is flying. Both UAV types mentioned are visible to players in the skies, if you look for them. What do I find the drones, or UAVs, good for though?

Personally, I find UAVs are good for +75 or +100 Scorestreak points in the game. UAVs are my weakness in the game. I may have the perfect camping spot set up, looking down my sites, just waiting on the enemies to fill it up; then I hear, "Be advised: hostile UAV incoming."

As soon as I hear that, I switch to my secondary weapon, usually the SMAW or FHJ-18 AA, and look up into the sky and start spinning like a top searching for the UAV. I try to make the UAVs' flight time short, very short. Like non-existent.

While blasting UAVs out of the skies in Call of Duty: Black Ops II's online multiplayer is one of my favorite things to do, I personally hope that drones do not become a standard operating use here in the U.S., even other countries around the world, by the government or private companies. Before a few of my own reasons why, here's the video!

Caffeinated Thoughts
Why don't I want drones to become a standard operating use?

Well, one reason, they can crash. Sure, it's a rare occasion now, but the drone crashing in Maryland is a recent example just in the last year. While that one fortunately didn't crash in a neighborhood, I can only imagine what might happen if there are 30,000, or more, drones up in the skies; that was the number of drones reported by The Washington Times last year that "could be" flying in the U.S. by 2020. 30,000!

Another reason is that they also apparently can lose communication with the original operator, and/or be hacked, which is possibly how Iran brought one down in their country. Black Ops II's story actually addresses this issue somewhat, and the idea of them possibly being hacked, and controlled by somebody other than the original operator is a bit crazy to me.

While armed drones are supposedly off limits right now for U.S. airspace, the fact that innocent civilians have been killed by drone strikes is reason enough that I think armed drone strikes should be ruled out everywhere; not just here in the United States. How many accidental drone strikes does it take, to create more enemies? I doubt very many.

One more reason? Basically, I don't trust U.S. politicians (see: government in general). The politicians in Washington D.C. can't even balance the budget or bother to read the bills they vote on, and why should we give them the benefit of the doubt with more information possibly gathered by drones? The more I see things happening, the more I'm reminded of 1984 and panem et circenses.

So, in short, I do agree with Mr. Krauthammer's initial statement about drones flying in the U.S., and I hope it doesn't happen. Either way, I'll enjoy shooting down UAVs in Black Ops II for now, and if you have a Wii U and Black Ops II feel free to add my Nintendo Network ID, Coffees, to your Wii U friend list.

You can call the U.S. Capitol's switchboard, if you don't know your representatives' direct numbers, at 202-224-3121 to contact your representatives and let them know your opinion on this issue, and other issues that may be important to you.

Questions
Do you think drones should be allowed to fly in U.S. airspace for basic surveillance purposes? Do you have any thoughts on this topic in general, or is this the first you have heard about it?

Have you shot down, or tried to shoot down, any UAV in Black Ops II or other Call of Duty game?


Sources: Krauthammer On Drones Flying In US: "Stop It Here, Stop It Now", Charles Krauthammer Opposes Drones?, Real Clear Politics

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