Whatever the technological or social precautions, it is clear that in most cases the achievements in the development of electronic government serve the needs of the vast majority of citizens.
An executive order issued on Friday required increased training, technological innovation and other "feasible precautions" to reduce civilian casualties from future drone strikes, as well as mandating the annual public release of an updated death toll from counterterrorism operations.
In another letter to al-Rahman he writes: "It is proven the American technology and its modern systems cannot arrest a mujahed [Islamic freedom fighter] if he does not commit a security error that leads them to him so adherence to security precautions makes their technological advance a loss and a disappointment to them".
In contrast to imaging modalities demanding heavy instrumentation such as PET, fDOT is based on relatively simple hardware that does not require a sophisticated technological environment or tedious safety precautions.
Commanders say that precautions can be taken and new technological devices can be installed on planes (the military is looking at using lasers to thwart ground-fire attacks), but that in a place like Iraq, aircraft will be shot at and sometimes hit.
Her classic litany of technological wonders that would have been prevented by precaution, from the Green Revolution to the Internet, is misplaced.
A goal of the executive order is to "take feasible precautions in conducting attacks to reduce the likelihood of civilian casualties" through training, "technological capabilities" and holding off on strikes to limit civilian deaths.
Jamie Shea, Nato's chief spokesman, said that cases when civilians were killed were due to technological failure or "the accidents of conflict" - not because Nato had failed to take all necessary precautions.
These two understandings of precaution may not always compete, but in the case of medical implants they have arguably rendered technological decision-making contentious.
