Post 20

In this post I will argue that the R&D in weaponry has made warfare more lethal and the consequences of warfare go beyond death. It is no secret that in the last decade, a major shift in weaponry has occurred, and as a result warfare has changed. Before, soldiers would fight hand-to-hand and be on the battlefield out in the open. If we look back at the Revolutionary War or the Civil War, soldiers would literally line up in front of each other and shoot without cover. Since then, we have seen many changes in how soldiers fight. In the Vietnam War, we saw a change to guerilla tactics and fighting behind cover. Similarly, in the Gulf War and early stages of the War on Terror, these tactics were used. However, in recent years, heavy investment in weaponry R&D has lead to the introduction of sophisticated fighter jets, bombers, and even drones.

The onset of fighter jets, bombers, and drones in warfare has led to more casualties and in fact, most of the increase is probably due to the high number of civilians caught in the crosshairs. Fighter jets, bombers, and drones were created with the purpose to protect soldiers by reducing the number of ground troops and “destroying targets with high accuracy and efficiency”. The “high efficiency” case is possibly true, however, “high accuracy” can be debated. After all, what good are drones if they cause so much unnecessary damage in terms of human lives and destruction of homes?

The development of the atomic bomb is in many ways similar to the push for drones and mechanized warfare. The theory behind it is that less human lives would be lost, less actual warfare, and thus more money saved. But, history tells us otherwise. Hiroshima and Fukushima were complete disasters because they wiped out entire cities taking innocent people, homes, and essentially a whole generation in Japan. The effects have been more lasting because of the radiation that remains from the bombs in certain places. The bomb in general has taken terrorism to a new level and has many unintended consequences.

Through smarter trial and error learning and testing, hopefully R&D in weaponry can limit the extent of harm caused to innocent people and actually serve its purpose of developing smarter and more accurate tools of warfare. Many of the unintended consequences that have occurred from R&D in weaponry should and could have been prevented.

Sources

"Atomic Bomb." HISTORY. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/atomic-bomb>.