Zombie Army

Weapons drones with names like Predator and Reaper are now actively engaged in combat. A recent article in The Economist suggests that the “next generation of drones will have artificial intelligence giving them a high degree of operational autonomy including – if legal and ethical questions can be resolved – the [self-contained?] ability to shoot to kill.”

More than a billion people watched the “Terminator” films. The human constituency is “nearly destroyed by … weapons … built to protect themselves … that could not be shut down.” Those who remember “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” may wonder when drone weaponry will be “liberated” from human control.

Yet the justifications for the use of drones are convincing. Drones are controlled by more layers of policy and decision-making authority than are units and individuals isolated in combat. Drone controllers operating from calm and distant locations are more likely to distinguish between military and civilian targets. Doesn’t it make sense to use drones rather than risk the lives of combatants when a mission may be accomplished by doing so?

Global Terrorism

In computer lingo, a zombie army is a group of mindless computers functioning as remote attackers “set up to forward transmissions … to other computers on the Internet for malicious and destructive purposes.” Terrorist zombies resemble drones because each is an automaton who has surrendered his own will. Zombie are soulless bodies captivated by a death cult, and terrorists are zombie-like versions of drones.

Global terrorism uses a zombie army to spread fear and suffering. During the past decade, the zombies of world terrorism murdered innocent civilians, including students, travelers, pilgrims, women and children, in many lands, including Lebanon, England, India, Israel, Spain, Nigeria, Mexico, Indonesia, Iraq and Norway.

These malignant zombies will not stop to think when their masters order them to deploy biological and atomic weapons with the power to kill millions of people. Humanity needs to rally against global terrorism before the zombie army acquires nuclear and biological weaponry.