"War porn"

An article at Der Spiegel discusses the stresses of "pilots" of remotely-controlled drones.

Until recently, people looked at this as something abnormal. But drones and robotic warfare in general are actually the new normal now. We've gone from using a handful of these systems to now having around 7,000 in the air. And the US is not the only country flying them. There are drones from 43 other countries, including Great Britain, Germany and Pakistan...

We're seeing a change in the very experience of war. The act of going to war used to entail you taking upon great risks. You might not come home one day. You might not see your family again. Now it's different. I heard a drone pilot explain it this way: You're going to war for one hour, and then you get in the car and drive home, and within two minutes you're sitting at the dinner table talking about your kids' homework. This is a very different experience of war...

The remoteness apparently doesn't decrease the stress:

Traditional bomber pilots don't see their targets. A remote operator sees the target up close, he sees what happens to it during the explosion and the aftermath. You're further away physically but you see more. Also, the drone war takes place 24/7, 365 days a year...

The technology affects public policy:

War used to be a very serious decision. Now we don't even declare war anymore. We don't pay war taxes, we don't buy war bonds. Now we can carry it out without having to deal with some of the consequences of sending our sons and daughters into harm's way. It also changes the way politicians think about war. You already have society's barriers against war dropping, and now you have a technology that takes the barriers to the ground...

And the attitude of the public:

The drone war is documented, downloaded, accessible for everyone. You can see the videos on YouTube. It's turning war for some into a form of entertainment. The soldiers call that "war porn."

Photo credit AFP.