this is real - Good Kill (2015) Discussion

[–] TCiampi 9 years ago

Are there innocent casualties in war? Yes and there are a hell of a lot fewer today than in past wars. Do you try and prevent them as much as you can? Yes. It is not the case that pilots are given free reign of the skies to rain down hellfire after hellfire on people below. Each strike has to be cleared and authorized. Are drone strikes hurting the war effort? That argument is going on today and both sides of the argument are valid. However drone strikes have certainly hindered insurgent groups ability to mobilize and at least keeps them on their feet. If you're trying to suggest(through your terribly unclear message) that America is the "bad guy" here single handily destroying those countries (I'm going to assume you meant to include Afghanistan in your list instead of Iraq twice) then think again. At the same time a number of those "innocent casualties" are people who know they are being used as human shields and know they are protecting people who are wanted; are they truly innocent? I would think not... But then again the effective death penalty seems a little harsh.

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[–] jpradtke 8 years ago

This made me laugh. Not that any of the points you made were laughable, just your entirely reasonable response to a total nonsense comment. I commend you, sir.

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[–] ender342 8 years ago

Much of what you say has merit but then you blow it all in your penultimate sentence. Are the families of workers and farmers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and other target locations 'truly innocent'? Do they know they are human shields protected people 'truly wanted' by us? Why don't they just pack up and get a plane ticket to Palm Springs or Las Vegas? Why don't you have the slightest understanding or sympathy for the truly innocent victims of our assaults?

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] michinine 9 years ago

Drone strikes are the less worst options of all worst options. As we can see in this interactive graphics, the strikes got more refined in the last years
http://drones.pitchinteractive.com/

Look at this numbers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Taliban_fatality_reports_in_Pakistan

Some of those military ops where to catch some Taliban leaders.
They throw everything they got to protect them, which caused the Death toll to climb up to 2000 and more. No hellfire ever killed 2000 people to just get a handful. Often these handful die anyway, so the "collateral" deaths are double useless. They are brainwashed kids and farmers, who play bullet catchers. Often, if they try to retreat the own squad leaders kill them out of cowardliness.

Real war is the most deadly of all. Drones may be comfortable and good in disrupting network building, but they become too common. How many times we got, like the 2th or the 6th in an supposed "organization"?

You kill one and five are willing to take the place. Its assumed that there are about 1-5 million radicals in these parts of the world. The amount of kills you would need to get rid of them is beyond crazy. They just have a way too high birth rate.

Drones keep the status quo. Thats the reason they will keep flying. But they don't solve anything. And with every shot fired, someone got richer in this never ending war.

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[–] TCiampi 9 years ago

Your first sentence sums it up perfectly. They are the least worst options of all worst options. They also importantly keep troops away from the danger. Why risk a soldiers life when you can have a machine do it for you. They're cheaper to fly than conventional aircraft and have longer loitering time. Plus politically voters are much more concerned about bodies coming home than a downed unmanned aircraft... Are they perfect? No and anyone who says they are is plain wrong.

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[–] carlgcarlson3 9 years ago

I agree. Why should any country risk the lives of their own to fight terrorism in a country full of people who don't want outside influence, yet do not a F'ing thing to stop it themselves. This isn't retaliative, this is preventive measure. You don't want us coming to your country to solve these problems, I agree.

We shouldn't have to and don't expect us to come to your country with boots on the ground, risking our lives just to prevent casualties in a war where the whole purpose is to bait us into doing just that. Nope, drones are the unfortunate answer to such a pathetically rooted problem of intolerance.

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[–] scuffpuppy 9 years ago

I'm British. English to be more precise, and I hate the current trend of anti-Americanism that appears to be popular among the less educated "YouTube sheeple" generation.

America never asked to become the world's police, yet every NATO and UN country has expected them to be that very thing over the past two decades. Condemning any intervention in public, while whispering "thank you" into America's ears behind closed doors. What do people think would happen if America (and the UK in some instances) didn't step up to the plate? Who do they think will offer help? The French? Germany? Spain? Of course they wouldn't.

As you said; if these countries want to stop coalition intervention, it's about time they did something to clean up their political and financial problems THEMSELVES. The second they stop either being a direct threat or harboring such threats America and co' will leave them alone.

The world would be a very darker place without America.

...that's like saying you are just an ape. ~ Autómata

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[–] Loony77 9 years ago

What do people think would happen if America (and the UK in some instances) didn't step up to the plate? Who do they think will offer help? The French? Germany? Spain? Of course they wouldn't.

Would it be such a bad thing if no one "stepped up to the plate"? I personally dont think so. And who exactly are we "helping" starting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?

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[–] drgreenthumb1001 9 years ago

Yes, we should let tyrannical dictators committ genocide, and the US, not the UN(which ALWAYS askks for Americas help) should not lift a finger.

Your unwillingly to want the US to help those in dire straits makes you look like a selfish, petulant child.

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[–] Jakezen 8 years ago

What would you have America do after 9/11? Turn the other cheek to the Taliban in Afghanistan?

I will give you the fact that the Iraq war was a fraudulent, unilateral invasion.

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[–] cs8578 9 years ago

Coming from an American who has done extensive research on his country's military past. The world is a very dark place because of America and it's puppetmaster Israel.

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[–] ccharlie183 9 years ago

oy vey! don't mention israel, the jews never did nothing to nobody, anti-semite neo nazi!

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[–] utexashorns 9 years ago

coming from an American who has done extensive research on our military past, I believe the world is by far better off with The United States around. Why don't you leave?! Oh yeah, because you couldn't live as well, as comfortably or with as much opportunity and freedoms as you enjoy in this place that you love to put down. If you could do much better then you would wouldn't you? SO you are here because it is the best place to live and you know it even though you cant seem to make the connection and admit you are delusional.

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[–] MisterMovieGuy 9 years ago

America is an incredibly powerful and influential country on the world stage, but this doesn't make it the best free country in the world to live in.

There are dozens of countries that boast a safer and generally better quality of life, better public education, better health care, better social systems and government services, less corruption, more diverse options for voters, lower crime rates, less racism, social problems, and disparity amongst social classes etc. You get the idea.

I don't want to start a huge pissing contest here about whose country is better than whose, but it really bugs me how many Americans seem to walk around thumping their chests, waving their flags, and swelling with pride about how America is "the best country in the world" and "the land of opportunity", or as you put it, "because you couldn't live as well, as comfortably, or with as much opportunity and freedoms elsewhere", yet seem blissfully unaware that these statements simply aren't true.

America is a great country, but it is far from the best, and it is not nearly as great as your own media and government would have you believe. There is a reason why the American stereotype is that of an ignorant fool.

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[–] mpatt670214 9 years ago

I am Indian, and I do live more comfortably than an average american, and won't live in America more than 6 days. But what Americans did with their drones, is far better than what they did during Vietnam war with their napalm bombings.

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[–] themaniac3010 9 years ago

I'm sorry but are you really saying just because America committed actions which were far worse than drone strikes they are allowed to simply go on doing what they're doing? This is ludicrous!

It may be true that many terrorists who posed a serious threat to civilians all over the world could be eliminated thanks to the US drone program but we also have to aks ourselves the question what it does to the public opinion of innocents who are suffering because of it. The only thing Pakistani children and teens see are their relatives being killed right and left by an invisible enemy who goes by the name of the United States of America. They don't see that they're being used as human shields by their own people. I think that's the problem here, as long as this war is being continued every Hellfire missle killing an insurgeant and an innocent will create two more people who'll take up arms against the Western world.

The most recent example for the bad results of America playing world police is ISIS, a direct result of the war in Iraq and Washington's failure to prevent the opression of Sunni Muslims after Sadam Hussein's government was ousted.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] katal-26376 9 years ago

Coming from an American who served 23 years in my countries service .....You have no idea what your talking about. Obama's an anti Semite so you follow his lead..Just more liberal psycho babble from one of Obama's necessary idiots.

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[–] ender342 8 years ago

Like many who have served so long you have drunk the Kool-Aid your superiors so carefully served you. I doubt that even they would sink so far as to call Barack Obama an 'anti-Semite' though. You probably sipped that poison from some other source. You seem to be one of those - distressingly many, especially at senior levels of government and business - who proclaim that Israel can do no wrong, that Palestinians are 'sub-human' (as one former Israeli PM actually contended) and that the U.S. should follow Israel's lead in every situation. (Oh, and the sinking of USS Liberty - and the strafing of its sailors in the water - was an 'unfortunate accident' rather than a deliberate effort to hide Israeli actions from Israel's US ally.) You might get a better picture of U.S. behavior in our part of the world by reading the memoirs of General Smedley Butler who served as long or longer than you did and finally realized that he had been duped.

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[–] utexashorns 9 years ago

Well said! FINALLY someone who is not just jumping on the bandwagon of hating America because that's the thing to do now. People are somehow convinced that they are more sophisticated or intelligent if they b*tch and criticize this country. Usually these people are extremely ill informed, don't actually follow politics to any depth or vote- gotta love these jackalopes!

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[–] carlgcarlson3 9 years ago

A lot of well said things. I'm Canadian and I'm proud to be and I love my american neighbors but when you look at their country from our perspective you can see it's hardly perfect. That being said, Canada isn't perfect either a lot of things can and should be improved in our respective countries. However I would never jump ship, neither would I pound my chest in pride.

I acknowledge that change is needed and also that there are worse places to be. To be honest I do think the world would be a far worse place without not just America but the U.K. and Canada. I prefer to believe in hope that things can always get better. There is so much intolerance in the world and I would argue that our countries are places where intolerance is in lesser concentration.

Not just ours though. A lot of North Western European countries and Western European countries. The Union etc. are great countries as well. Sweden and Switzerland for example. I think they are more tolerable places where diversity exists.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] mkey82 9 years ago

The world would be a very darker place without America.

You can't be serious. UN thanks US for destroying other countries? You simply can't be serious.

If there's still anyone thinking that Islamist extremism on the Middle East (and elsewhere) needs special attention and pruning because it's simply evil and whatnot, let me offer these two points:

1. who saw fit to redraw borders in the Middle East after the Great war? European powers, according to their own needs.

2. how would you personally feel if your mother was blown up in a random suicide strike, neighbor killed by a sniper, that cute girl from down the street gunned down by an UAV? I'd wager you'd feel quite rebellious and vengeful in no time. Combine that with some brainwashing and you're ready to be strapped with some explosives.

Violence breeds violence, "terrorism" breeds "terrorism." Honestly, we're at that point in time where terrorism should really become the t-word, just like the n-word because it has behind itself a lush history of violence, hatred and with a hot side dish of genocide that it shouldn't be uttered on the matter of principle.

Another very important note: when people say "America this, America that" only the truly stupid think that the whole of America and its people are to blame. Americans are no less brainwashed than most of us other people around the world and are really not the be held accountable for the sick actions of their government. OK, there are elections, but come one, who still believes in the democratic process? We're living in the rich man's world, hunting the dream, that 0.0000001% chance of getting at the top 1%. Until we man up, things won't be turning for the better.

Know your enemy. Some broken, torn down people in Yemen or Afghanistan are surely not your enemy.

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[–] hatman28 9 years ago

The you are as ignorant as the makers of this film. I feel sad for your lack of depth.

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[–] utexashorns 9 years ago

yes- we have been using drones for quite a while now!

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[–] soldier_one_2 9 years ago

Thought provoking and quite dark at times. Good film.

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[–] Helio_Centric 9 years ago

This film was written by film school rejects.

Terrible acting, cliche storyline, bad editing. Worst film I've ever seen.

Look for the Tigerland/Good Kill 2-for-1 DVD advertised at a supermarket near you.

Confidence breeds success. Success breeds confidence. -Iron Mike

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[–] parkerone 9 years ago

worst film you have ever seen?! you obviously haven't seen many

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[–] djdrb 9 years ago

everyone just needs to stop fighting its pretty simple...... give up live your life.