In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Search: drones

08 Apr

...unmanned drones, where there is no need for possible identification when a pilot is shot down, it makes no difference whether the drone's controller is in uniform or not. In essence, on pragmatic grounds, I see a material difference between a CIA officer on the ground shooting al-Aulaqi - where the full panoply of IHL obligations should apply - and the killing him via a drone strike. At minimum, IHL on the subject is not crystal clear. Contrast the ambiguity of IHL -- which, remember, is only operationalized in U.S....
08.04.10 | |

07 Apr

...of the identifiability provision is to avoid the confusion of who is/is not a combatant in the combat zone. It’s nonsensical to apply it to drone pilots operating thousands of miles away from the enemy." It does seem counterintuitive, but I think it does apply. For instance, we have private contractor drone operators in theatre...they need to have people actually over there to get the drones off the ground, but military pilots take them over to do the targeting. That wouldn't be necessary otherwise. Marko Milanovic Kevin, You raise an...
07.04.10 | |

28 May

...make every effort to identify the target but it is not a war crime to defend yourself from an obvious threat even if it is subsequently determined that you used force against protected civilians. When President Clinton fired cruise missiles into Afghanistan in response to the attacks on the US Embassies in Africa, this was an example of strategic self defense because the US did not regard it as serious enough to trigger an armed conflict. Had drones been available at the time, he might have been able to order...
28.05.10 | |

05 Nov

...citation of legal clauses and paragraphs. This cherry picking seems to be rife amongst so called "Legal experts" and deos nothing but tarnish the rule of law and the UN in general. federico The suggested approach acquires relevance in respect of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. The possibility of continuously tracking the target puts it in the extra-territorial power of the State, which is operating the unmanned aircraft. Once the drone engages the target, it is unlikely it loses it. Actually, the target moves under the umbrella...
05.11.14 | |

25 Oct

...invasion of international law by twitter-ese (R2P??) is truly obnoxious. Mihai Martoiu Ticu I agree with Kevin. The commander-in-chief is a legal target, as the fellow combatants of the guys killed by drones, can legally bomb the CIA headquarters where the drones are driven, and Obama. Carthago I guess the point of the complaint filed by Gaddafi's family is that he was already a prisoner when he was killed, which makes the killing a war crime. Mihai Martoiu Ticu @Rhodri Posner is just a Machiavellian, who claims that U.S. should...
25.10.11 | |

23 Nov

...war--also could be considered terrorists in that they are neither soldiers nor civilians." (Larry May, in War Crimes and Just War, 2007). And no doubt this makes it likely that Blackwater/Xe Services LLC is one of the CIA contractors involved with the CIA in the joint operations involving use of armed drones in Pakistan: "The heavy involvement of the CIA and CIA contractors in the decisions to strike may alone account for the high unintended death rates [in the drone attacks: from 2006 until late 2009, 'about 20 suspected militant...
23.11.09 | |

13 Jul

...Habeas and Detention, Targeting with Drones, False Pretenses for the War in Iraq and other aspects of the current conflict and accountability. May 5, 2012)" (http://www.saltlaw.org/blog/2012/05/05/stepping-out-of-line-redux-refluat-stercus-or-an-essay-in-parts-on-the-ksm-and-other-military-commissions-torture-habeas-and-detention-targeting-with-drones-false-pretenses-for-the-war-in-iraq/) (v) Our knowledge about social causality is too slight to permit confident predictions about the effects of an as yet untried system. Response: See above on worldwide experience with tribunal d'exception. Our experience is sufficient to know these military commissions are a very bad idea. (vi) [I'm modifying Elster's last point, as it was meant to apply to constitutions and not institutions generally.] After...
13.07.12 | |

08 Jan

Alan G. Kaufman While the legal issues are fascinating and important. no less so are the strategic ones -- which implicate legal issues related to a targeted killing policy that uses tools other than drones -- e.g. ununiformed covert operatives. I recommend review of the following: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-engelhardt/the-cia-surges_b_417881.html "Army Major General Michael Flynn, U.S. and NATO forces deputy chief of staff for intelligence in Afghanistan, released a report in which he labeled military intelligence in the war zone -- but by implication U.S. intelligence operatives generally -- “clueless.” They were, he...
08.01.10 | |

12 Aug

...aforementioned information.I hope this helps.Obtestor Charles Gittings Hi Obtestor, * "If the Geneva Conventions protected terrorists, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now, would we?"Well they do and we are, so I guess maybe you need to work on your logic a bit.* "Think about it Charles, how are combatants that kill innocent civilians with sneaky bomb placements and suicide Shahid vests protected by the Geneva Conventions?"The same way everybody else is, including people who kill innocent civilians with Stealth bombers and Predator drones, or Marines who fire on...
12.08.05 | |

05 May

...military commission was completely logical based on the Khan and al-Nashiri under the MCA of 2009 and earlier matters. More in due course. Stepping out of Line (Redux): Refluat Stercus or an Essay in parts on the KSM and other Military Commissions, Torture, Habeas and Detention, Targeting with Drones, False Pretenses for the War in Iraq and other aspects of the current conflict and accountability http://www.saltlaw.org/blog/2012/05/05/stepping-out-of-line-redux-refluat-stercus-or-an-essay-in-parts-on-the-ksm-and-other-military-commissions-torture-habeas-and-detention-targeting-with-drones-false-pretenses-for-the-war-in-iraq/ Not that we really give much of a damn in America about justice. Best, Ben NewStream Dream Breaking, this is a giant echo chamber....
05.05.12 | |

01 Aug

...putting the villagers into a state of panic. A villager who had fled from Srifa explained how the heavy Israeli bombardment effectively trapped people inside the village, and how the village Sheikh had ordered the terrified civilians to seek refuge in the wealthier "Moscow" neighborhood of the village, where the multiple-story homes had concrete basements that offered greater protection: After the first bombing, villagers started fleeing to neighboring villages for safety.Israel saw this from their drones, and they sent Apache helicopters to circle the village to prevent us from leaving.They...
01.08.09 | |

06 Apr

...research activity is focused on the "creeping" modification of the traditional ius ad bellum rules due to the need to face the global terrorist threat. My last published article is about the use of drones in counterterrorism: N. Colacino, From just war to permanent self-defence: the use of drones in counterterrorism and its questionable consistency with International Law standards, www.rivistaoidu.net n. 4/2015, pp. 607-629. Hope we will have new chances to exchange our views. Best, Nicola John Heieck Thanks, Nicola. I will read your article with great interest. Best, John...
06.04.16 | |