Cardoor - Slashdot User

Submission + - Are new technologies undermining the laws of war? (sagepub.com)

Submitted by Lasrick on Monday January 06, 2014 @03:21PM

Lasrick writes: This is a great read--as the author writes: 'Today, emerging military technologies—including unmanned aerial vehicles, directed-energy weapons, lethal autonomous robots, and cyber weapons—raise the prospect of upheavals in military practice so fundamental that they challenge assumptions underlying long-established international laws of war, particularly those relating to the primacy of the state and the geographic bounds of warfare. But the laws of war have been developed over a long period, with commentary and input from many cultures. What would seem appropriate in this age of extraordinary technological change, the author concludes, is a reconsideration of the laws of war in a deliberate and focused international dialogue that includes a range of cultural and institutional perspectives.'

Submission + - FBI Edits Mission Statement: Removes Law Enforcement as 'Primary' Purpose... (foreignpolicy.com)

Submitted by schwit1 on Monday January 06, 2014 @09:49AM

schwit1 writes: Following the 9/11 attacks, the FBI picked up scores of new responsibilities related to terrorism and counterintelligence while maintaining a finite amount of resources. What's not in question is that government agencies tend to benefit in numerous ways when considered critical to national security as opposed to law enforcement. "If you tie yourself to national security, you get funding and you get exemptions on disclosure cases," said McClanahan. "You get all the wonderful arguments about how if you don't get your way, buildings will blow up and the country will be less safe."

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