rise of the machines

In one of the most frightening military technology developments I've ever heard of, the U.S. is planning to send a bunch of remote-controlled machine gun toting robots to fight insurgents in Iraq. The BBC has somehow managed to file this story as if it were a completely normal thing to happen; they seem, in fact, not to find any problem whatsoever with these things:

"Unlike its human counterparts, the armed robot does not require food, clothing, training, motivation or a pension. ...However, the robot will rely on its human operator, remotely studying footage from its cameras, for the order to open fire."

I mean, is it just me, or this an insane idea? Have the people involved with this project never seen any of the four gazillion movies where armed robots turn against their human masters? Robots malfunction! It's chaos theory! It's the ghost in the machine!

Seriously though, this is ridiculous. This thing will make mistakes and its operators will make mistakes. The only difference will be that now, making mistakes will be a hell of a lot easier:

"A US officer who helped test the robot said it was a more accurate shot than the average soldier because it is mounted on a stable platform and takes aim electronically."

*Shudder* Link to BBC article.