When it comes to armed drones, is smaller and more precise necessarily better? The question came to my mind upon seeing the news that the U.S. Air Force just successfully test-launched a new weaponizable drone, the ALTIUS-600, making it the smallest drone in operation. Even more remarkably, this tiny aircraft was launched from the second-smallest-drone, the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie, while the Valkyrie was in flight. There is nothing objectionable about the development of mini-drones. One could even argue they would be improvements, in humanitarian terms, over the use of the much larger Reaper to deliver 500-pound bombs in allegedly “precise” [...]
Upon his arrival in Baghdad, Pope Francis said he had come as a “penitent pilgrim” begging for peace. It was a historic event in many ways—the first trip overseas for Francis himself and the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. Despite concerns that it would lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases, Francis said he had decided to proceed with the visit in order to bring comfort to and show solidarity with the country’s beleaguered Christian minority. This week on the Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s Elliot Waldman sat down with Joshua McElwee, the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, who [...]
Pope Francis traveled to Iraq earlier this month, his first trip overseas since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and the first-ever papal visit to the war-torn country. Francis said he wrestled with concerns that the three-day visit could facilitate the spread of COVID-19, but ultimately deemed it a worthwhile opportunity to encourage and show solidarity with Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority. During his travels, the pontiff also highlighted a number of issues that he has devoted considerable attention to throughout his papacy, including poverty, interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution. Joshua McElwee, the Vatican correspondent and international news editor for the [...]
