The lights go down in a quiet movie theater as the scene of a movie appears to a hushed crowd. The scene is a crowded square, with a stage and a man speaking to the crowd. A shadow appears in a window behind the stage, then disappears. Ten minutes later, a man playing the President of the United States walks out, seemingly about to to make his speech to those who await him. As he opens his mouth to greet the crowd, a barrage of gunshots is heard and the man is shot down. The secret service is scattered immediately in an attempt to find the person or person’s responsible. They proceed to search the building they all swear was “swept completely just minutes before,” but found it totally empty. The film is entitled “Vantage Point,” starring Dennis Quaid and later on in the movie, it is discovered that the gunfire came from a remotely controlled sharp shooting machine gun - ergo the reason the building was indeed, empty. There was no need for an actual person to be there to fire that gun; at least that is the way it is portrayed in the movies.
When the Gorilla saw this scene in the movie, he thought “wow, cool Sci-Fi idea they came up with for the movie!” (Now, folks, this is just normal “guy banter” and no, the Gorilla does not condone violence!) But little did he know then, this “remote” technology is very real, and it is being used for political terrorism as we speak. In fact, military experts have warned that terrorists could use unmanned drones in aerial attacks, saying robotics offered a “frighteningly easy” way to evade security. According to the 177 year-old Royal United Services, the materials and the know-how to manufacture lethal improvised robots is easily available. “Sooner or later, we’re going to see a Cessna programmed to fly into a building,” said Rear Adm. Chris Parry, who formed the Ministry of Defense’s Development, Concepts and Doctrine Center in 2005. He also added that remotely piloted aircraft, or even model planes, are almost as undetectable to radar as a blackbird and are easy and cheap to build. Scary!
Unmanned planes have already been used in attacks by Hezbollah, and Al-Quaida alike. In addition, unmanned vehicles have also been used in attacks involving terrorism, but were also key to the U.S. military efforts in Iraq. So, is the U.S. in the ballgame yet? Well, of course! After all, the U.S. would never be outdone in military technology. Incredibly, according to a Fox Newswire, the Pentagon wants $3.4 billion for 2008 to fund its unmanned aircraft programs, and a strategy document put out by the U.S. Department of Defense last year outlined plans to automate a third of the Army’s new ground combat vehicles by 2015. The Gorilla is a big lover of remote control airplanes, helicopters, cars boats himself! However, it is a shame to think of this fun and entertaining hobby as something that could be used for heinous acts of terrorism. Reality is harsh sometimes. Still, you can’t stop advancements in technology, and although the Gorilla hates to state the obvious, if our enemies are using the technology, than the U.S. must as well.