The Drones And Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle By St. Thomas Aquinas

Within the last century, military advancements in the United States have developed exponentially in all aspects of fighting on sea, land, and air. One of the most prominent technological advancements is the development of the drone, or unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV). The idea of having eyes in the skies to put at an advantage over the enemy has been consistent since the First World War, and continues to be a large focus of the Department of Defense today. These devices come in a variety of variants, including commercial purchases for recreational use, to governmental purchases for the defense of the nation. A week after the attack on the World Trade Center, President Bush authorized the Use of Military Force Act (AUMF), which states that
With that agreement comes the defense of the nation and the powerful question of when it is justified to defend, and to what risk do we place on the people of the United States. We reflect on the history of our predecessors to determine their successes and their mistakes. There are fundamental questions we must address before war is wages because during war, people will die, and resources will be allocated. St. Thomas Aquinas, an influential philosopher of the 13th century addressed the questions of what it means to justify war. He argued that it is permissible to use force against a foreign enemy when the criteria of the "Natural Law" are met. He states that war must be declared by a legitimate authority, it must have a just cause, and it must have the right intention to do good and avoid evil. However, this was centuries ago and human civilization has developed immensely in regards to waging war. Technological advancements have deteriorated the image of traditional hand-to-hand combat in war. Today, we are provided with an entirely new way to wage war with drones, which through the use of technology, eliminates the possibility of human loss of life. We put strain on the criteria of justified force, as well as using drones for the right intention. Centuries following the ethical just war theories proposed by Thomas Aquinas, there needed to be some additional qualifications in order to adjust to the modernization of war. These additional qualifications included using the declaration of war as a last resort, the likelihood of success, the proportionality of ends, and to have a just means behind war. The dilemma behind drone use in regards to these qualifications is that the United States has not declared a drone war, but continues to use drones against the ongoing fight against