WRAP IT UP....

1.--I thought that the assignment "The Holy Land" was a very interesting topic.  Even after reading and completing the course material for week 13, I chose to take another look at the provided material and what I had dug up myself on the issue.  I was fascinated at how long the "Holy" war went on for.  I was taken a back even more that the conflict between the two (Israelis and Palestinians) still has not come to a compromise with the land that they each share.  The assignment opened my eyes to the seriousness of the situation.  I didn't realize how small the piece of land set aside for the Jewish population was, or by how much they were outnumbered by Arabs.


2.-- I haven't been in college for a long time.  Its been almost been 18 years since I took a college level course and a lot has changed.  When I read the course syllabus back in September, I was a little nervous because I really didn't know what a blog was.  After some research I realized that it wasn't as bad  as I had originally thought.  I set up an account with Blogger and slowly began to learn how to navigate through the Blogosphere.  It is important to me that I learn how to express myself through blogs.  Knowing how to sign on to Blogger and use the Internet and social media to share my beliefs, opinions, and express myself is a tool that I now have in my toolbox.  I intend on using this tool as I move forward in school and life.

 
3.--The first thing that I learned about myself was that other educated, level headed people thought like me.  For the longest time, as a teenager and well into my twenties, I felt as if I was misunderstood.  Because I felt that way, I kept most of my opinions and beliefs to myself.  As this class moved from week to week, my confidence and self-esteem grew.  I realized, while answering the questions and reading other students replies in the discussion forum,  that my opinions and thoughts didn't sound so different or off base.  The second thing that I learned about myself while taking this class was that I wasn't so sure of my political identity anymore.  My stance on some political issues were changing.  For years I considered myself an Independent.  If I was to lean any way it would've been to the liberal side of things on certain issues.  But after reading the material on a few assignments and doing some of my own research,  I found that I was more of a conservative independent.


4.--I enjoyed this class.  I thought that every one of the topics were extremely interesting and always looked forward to the next assignment.  Although this reason may seem selfish of me, the only thing that I would change about this class would be that the assignments be due during the week.  Fridays would be a good due day.  I get the assignments on Tuesdays and because of other classes, I don't get to the material until the weekend.  I spend almost every weekend with my family (daughter) because we are busy all week.  And this time of year there's a ton of sports (football, hockey, and basketball) going on.  Again, I know that my reasons may come off petty and selfish, but thats the only thing that  I would change about this class if given the chance.

5.--I learned so much about whats going on in this ever-changing world that we live in.  The knowledge that I absorbed like a sponge from this class has already helped me in some of my current courses (Govt, Eng) that I'm taking this semester.  I also think that learning how to navigate Blogger will assist me in future courses that I take.


6.--I enjoyed writing about many of the topics this past semester.  My favorite assignment that we covered was on week 11, Crime and Punishment.  The Crime and Punishment assignment was the one topic that I felt the closest to.  I have a history with the prison systems and have experienced how barbaric and backwards it can be.  I have first-hand knowledge of what goes on behind the wall. The prison system in the United States is broken.  Whether its putting someone in prison for a non-violent crime or sentencing a murderer to death, something must be done.  There is too much of our (the taxpayer) money being wasted and it is only getting worse.

DRONES: A NECESSARY EVIL?

           A drone, also known as an "unmanned aerial vehicle" (UAV), is an aircraft without a pilot on board.  It can be remotely controlled from thousands of miles away.  Drones are used for a variety of reasons, but most notably for reconnaissance and unmanned aerial combat (UCAV--unmanned combat aerial vehicle).   They have been around since 1995 when the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator was used as part of a NATO intervention in Bosnia for reconnaissance.  After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Predator #3034 (fitted with Hellfire missiles) was deployed to Afghanistan where it carried out its first armed mission on October 7, 2001.  In 2007 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (UCAV capable of carrying bigger payload) was introduced and is currently being used by the CIA and JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command).  Drones are primarily supposed to be used with military campaigns and in countries that harbor terrorists.  The U.S. military have used drones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and according to some reports Iran.  The precise number killed by drone strikes is not known.  The Council on Foreign Affairs estimates the total at 3,500 deaths in the 420 targeted attacks since the first strike in 2001.  There's no way to tell how many civilians were killed in the process.  Although most drone strikes are carried out secretly,  there are many that the public were made aware of through various news outlets.  Drones are a necessary tool for the U.S. military.  They have been proven to be useful and highly successful when it comes to targeting Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist networks.                      

    

         

                    Many human rights groups question the legality of drone strikes.  There are many protesting the use of drones in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and of course the United States.  Clergymen and leaders of faith claim that drone strikes are immoral and unethical.  After Sept. 11, most Americans supported the use of drones, but according to a poll conducted by YouGov this past March, 53% of Americans approved the use of drones to kill high-level terrorist suspects overseas.  The support and opinion of drone use is shifting.  There are movements being formed to pressure the Obama Administration to tell the truth about their drone programs, claiming that drone strikes kill mostly civilians.  They also claim that only low-level terrorists are being targeted and in actuality, are making America a less safer place.  The bombing from the drones are killing civilians, displacing families, ruining communities and giving them a reason to join the insurgency against America.  On top of the speculation that drone attacks are being deemed counter-intuitive, the cost to produce them is costing the American tax-payers billions of dollars.  The number of drones has increased forty-fold from 2002-2010.  The money spent producing drones has increased from $284 million in 2000, to $3.3 billion in 2010.  Americans opposing the drone programs think the billions spent on the drone programs would be better used to build better relationships with the countries that are being affected by the drone strikes.

          I understand that drone strikes are not an exact science, but what is?  Of all the attacks on terrorist cells and targets, most have been successful, but we usually only hear about it when a civilian is killed.  When an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) goes off, civilians are killed, along with U.S. soldiers.  How is that any different? The use of drones limits the military personnel that would be at risk on the battlefield.  Military historian John Keegan called drone warfare "the impersonalization of battle."  Studies have shown that disconnecting a person, especially by means of distance (physical or emotional) from a potential adversary makes targeting easier and abuses more likely.  I completely understand the anger and protest of an American civilian being targeted and killed.  But when that said American joins a foreign allegiance that kills American soldiers and is a threat to the U.S., i consider it fair and just punishment.  The people that question the legality of drone strikes have a legitimate point.  I believe that there should be guidelines that need to be followed, but I can deal with it if these drones will help keep the United States a safer place for me and my family.