Puppy Troopers
by 98 Rock Extra
,
posted Nov 2 2011 7:47PM
|
According to the Guardian UK, Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) has been unleashing highly trained dogs of war to help gather video surveillance of Taliban strongholds and suspected insurgent safe havens. Using a technique reportedly pioneered by U.S. special forces, these German shepherds are strapped to British paratroopers chests as they drop behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. Live video captured by the dogs' head-mounted cameras feeds back information to base. In addition, these elite canine soldiers are trained to attack armed people on the ground as well.
During these missions, eight of the military dogs have reportedly been killed in action. The U.K. Ministry of Defense refuses to comment on any current special forces operations but as one source tells the Guardian, while the dogs have given their lives for the mission, if they weren't there, "that would be eight SAS men" who are dead.
Obviously, the idea of conscripting German shepherds into dangerous combat service doesn't sit well with animal rights activists. Responding to the news, PETA released a statement proclaiming, "Dogs are not tools or 'innovations' and are not ours to use and toss away like empty ammunition shells."
As valuable as the video captured by these canine soldiers may be, using them in combat situations sits on extremely shaky ethical ground. for many However, this is by no means the first time that dogs have been used as weapons of war or that animals have served in the armed forces.
What do you think? Are these parachuting dogs patriotic heroes and an acceptable strategy in the fight against terrorism? Or is it completely wrong to draft canines into such dangerous roles?
|
Extra Stuff From All Of Our Blogs
