On that last point, of course, Weatherington is only thinking about American military personnel and American lives. Tomorrow's drone warfare will likely mean "more" in one other area: more dead civilians. We've left behind the fiction of Hollywood for a less high-tech but distinctly dystopian reality. It isn't quite the movies and it isn't what the Pentagon mapped out, but it indisputably provides a clear path to a grim and grimy Terminator Planet.
Nick Turse is the associate editor of TomDispatch.com. An award-winning journalist, his work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Nation, and regularly at TomDispatch. He is the author/editor of several books, including the just published Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050 (with Tom Engelhardt). This piece is the latest article in his new series on the changing face of American empire, which is being underwritten by Lannan Foundation. You can follow him on Twitter @NickTurse, on Tumblr, and on Facebook.
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Copyright 2012 Nick Turse
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