...play it again! bis!...

The latest in American intentions for action in Iraq comes from the BBC - a plan to use robot soldiers to fight insurgents. 18 of these robots are being sent, where they will be remote-controlled by soldiers viewing with mounted cameras the action occurring half a mile away.

The idea is that the US can use these robots - who require no food, water, supplies, or pensions - to fight their enemies with much less risk to US soldiers, greater efficiency and speed, and less shooter error. The result is an ever greater desensitization of war.

To me, this image of an American soldier standing watching camera footage, and controlling a robot with a joystick and remote control brings war to the level of a video game. I am so incredibly offended by this because war is not, in fact, a game. This move is an action motivated by the bottom line, and reeks of callousness and cowardice, two things which seem to often go hand in hand. While Iraqi nationals will be risking their lives and fighting for their lives and their nation, a cocky American pup will be running his little robot like at a video consul.