BEHIND THE IRONY CURTAIN

There were two items in the media yesterday that caught my attention. They couldn't be more different.

The first story, found in the L.A. Times, was about the drones being used in Afghanistan. There are more than 7,000 of them - used for both observation and actual combat - whose "pilots" are often quite far away. Flying the planes with virtual reality computers, some in fact are located on air bases in the U.S. It is quite possible for one of the "pilots" to wake up in the morning, have breakfast with his wife and kids, drive to work, bomb a village, and be home in time for dinner. Needless to say, the military has discovered that this unique work regimen has created some unique problems. They are working to resolve them.

The second story, on Sunday Morning, also involved foreigners. Three cities were chosen at random - they were located in India, Russia, and Oman - a reporter went to each city, opened the phone book and chose a name; once again, at random. Then he did a story about that person. All three stories were fascinating, unexpected, informative and interesting. It was an extraordinary use of broadcast technology to reach out and touch real people who, otherwise, we could never know.

So, in the first story we find Americans using computer technology to kill people we don't know who may or may not have posed a threat, while in the second story we find Americans using a different technology to reach out to people we don't know in order to gain a deeper understanding of their lives, and perhaps our own. I wonder which strategy will provide greater security in the long run?