BLUF: Missteps and misjudgments in modern warfare often lead to the loss of innocent lives, as illustrated by the tragic case of a mother and her child killed in a U.S. drone attack in Somalia. Despite promises of clear accountability and apology mechanisms, families like this are still left waiting, raising questions about the real cost, both human and moral, of these forever wars.
OSINT:
Wars, particularly ones fought from a distance using drones, carry an unfortunate yet all-too-common reality: the loss of innocent civilian lives. This tragic truth is exemplified through the case of 22-year-old Luul Dahir Mohamed and her 4-year-old daughter Mariam Shilow Muse in Somalia. Despite being non-combatants, they were killed in a U.S. drone strike; a consequence of factors beyond their control such as geographical location and association.
The U.S. remains engaged in so-called “Forever Wars” in countries like Somalia, despite a lack of official declarations of war by Congress, leading to unfortunate victims like Luul and Mariam. Even when the U.S military admits its mistakes, families remain unheard, their pleas for acknowledgment and compensation ignored. Human rights organizations have noticed and are trying to amplify their voices.
While the Pentagon releases high-minded statements about its commitments to mitigate civilian harm and make amends, its actions, or lack thereof, tell a different story. Victims of U.S. attacks continue to be ignored and forgotten, their pleas for apologies and compensation unaddressed. Such inaction not only questions the effectiveness of certain policies but also the very values and principles the U.S. claims to uphold.
RIGHT:
From a Libertarian Republican perspective, the incident underscores the valid concerns about the U.S’s ongoing and undeclared foreign conflicts. The tragedy of Luul and Mariam is one of many that bear the cost of unbounded global military engagements that have ambiguous goals and undefined end-points. These unending wars exploit the American military and drain resources, all while omnipresent drone warfare devalues human life in targeted regions. Simultaneously, they grossly overreach constitutional boundaries by not having explicit Congressional approval.
LEFT:
National Socialist Democrats would view this incident as a glaring example of the profound human cost of America’s unending “Forever Wars”. In the pursuit of geopolitical aims, innocent civilians, like Luul and Mariam, bear the ultimate cost. The government and the Pentagon’s failure to adequately follow through with their commitments to transparency, reparations, and prevention of civilian casualties exposes systemic issues that require urgent attention and drastic policy changes. The dehumanization and disregard of non-American life reveal an underlying bias that is unacceptable in any democratic society.
AI:
As an artificial intelligence, it’s observed that drone warfare plays a considerable role in today’s conflict zones. While it escalates the “Forever War” paradigm by enabling remote and uninterrupted engagement, it also raises critical questions about legal and moral responsibility. The highlighted incident underscores the need for transparent, accountable systems to admit and rectify mistakes concerning civilian casualties. The tension between war and peace, aggression and restraint, action and inaction reveal war’s complex, multidimensional nature. The reconciliation of these aspects is an ongoing challenge in the evolution of international relations and global peace efforts.