I am a big advocate of unmanned vehicles. In this case the drone is really being used as a proxy for any use of the military against an individual, especially without due process. Drones have a couple of advantages when used by a dictator: The ability to place the operator under continuous threat and persistence. Other entities come and go; allowing free movement when they are gone. Some drone operations (with more than one drone) can easily maintain a 24 hour constant watch 7 days a week.
I think of the Hutaree “militia”.
They were accused of doing exactly what the administration says would justify using drones to kill Americans on American soil. Fortunately Obama couldn’t use the drones to kill them first and every last one of them was found to be not guilty. The leader was elected constable in his hometown in November.
Drones would have saved the embarrassment of taking those guys to jail and then having the judge slap the feds around for a trumped up fantasy case. Its so much easier to kill first then convict.