Search: drones

drone targetings have become far more accurate with less incidental loss of civilian life than with more conventional and otherwise lawful methods and means. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1520717 Mary Ellen's important points for the future include: (1) who should be flying the drones (U.S. military or CIA personnel)?, and (2) in the future, should we regulate fully automated drones (that engage in targetings without "a human in the loop"). p.s. the President does not need special congressional approval to engage in lawful measues of self-defense under U.N. art. 51 -- see, e.g., http://ssrn.com/abstract=2061835...

...It makes some sense that a treaty on terrorism would consider the two seperately, even if in many cases the outcome in terms of who gets bombed or shot might be the same in practice (though not always). There's a number of reasons the CIA is a civilian agency (and should remain so, IMO). The militarization of the CIA lately (running the drones, having a serving General as agency head) is quite alarming, really. CG So, would it be terrorism for a foreign intelligence service to plant a bomb on...

...repeated time and again that Pakistani forces can handle drones themselves and USA must shift drones to Pakistan. Moreover its injustice to say that 3 months ago Pakistan and specially Islamabad was going in hands of Taliban and US was terming Pakistani government incapable 3 months ago. Its all propaganda .Pakistani civilian PPP government led by Zardari is ever strong having full support of Pak army and its allies in provinces , there was insurgency to some extent in swat three months ago and PPP government , not on orders...

...any legal basis on which the Court can silence an accused . Kevin also pointed out problems with the appointment of a new judge in the Seselj case, which led to a very active discussion in the comments. Julian asked whether Japan’s pledge to shoot down Chinese drones violates international law. Maybe the Japanese could learn a thing or two from the British Navy and its use of Britney Spears’ songs to scare away Somali pirates along Africa’s East Coast. Finally, Sean D. Murphy summarized the International Law Commission’s work...

...the protection of civilians from the devastation of war. In World War II both sides resorted to the blanket bombing of cities—often at night—that killed hundreds of thousands of noncombatants. Nobody was tried for these killings; If the Axis had won the war they would surely have tried “Bomber Harris” for the RAF’s actions.Laser guided missiles and unmanned drones have made more accurate targeting feasible. Although the United States has never become a party to the Protocols, its armed forces have tried hard to minimize civilian casualties in Serbia, Iraq...

...it will define us, mindful of James Madison’s warning that “No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” …. [T]he use of force must be seen as part of a larger discussion about a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy. Because for all the focus on the use of force, force alone cannot make us safe. We cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root; and in the absence of a strategy that reduces the well-spring of extremism, a perpetual war – through drones or Special Forces...

...has an internationalized armed conflict there may be areas where the conflict does not exist. I will leave it to Brookman-Byrne to continue this analysis as it involves several of the armed conflicts discussed by Mačák. Sadly, drones seems to be a popular method of combatting terrorism more generally and they are being used without the geographical analysis needed to ensure the attack is taking place within an armed conflict. Within the criminal context in a zone that does not fall into Mačák’s typology the person attacked of a drone...

...of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday, police said. Middle East and Northern Africa Iran and six world powers are close to signing a historic nuclear deal that will bring sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s atomic programme, officials say. The United States is holding discussions with countries in North Africa about locating drones at a base there to heighten monitoring of Islamic State in Libya. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, celebrated her 18th birthday in Lebanon on Sunday by opening a school...

...count of genocide by murder and one count of crimes against humanity by murder. The UN is going to release a warning about the Flame computer virus. Lawfare offers more insight about the virus, as does Foreign Policy. And with more context of viruses, generally, Homeland Security Watch urges everyone to stop calling all cyber somethings “cyber attacks.” After yesterday’s New York Times story about Obama and targeted killings pointed out by our own Deborah Pearlstein, Foreign Policy mapped where the drones are. Talks are underway in Addis Ababa to...

...case information sheet here). He is faced with charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. American drones have allegedly killed 10 militants in Yemen, in a stepped-up effort to get a strangle hold on AQAP. Foreign Policy explores some of the potential dangers in for this move. Through an exchange of letters, Israel and Palestine have made a rare joint statement that both parties are “committed to peace.” Various subgroups of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol are meeting in Bonn from...

...damage claims related to the foreign activities of multinational companies. Niger has given permission for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in northern Mali and the wider Sahara. An Egyptian court upheld the in absentia death sentences of seven Coptic Christians and an American preacher on charges stemming from the amateur anti-Muslim film Innocence of Muslims, which sparked violent protests in the Middle East last year Israel will give Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s administration around $100 million in tax...

CIA director Leon Panetta has named a new National Clandestine Service chief, reports Peter Finn in the Washington Post today. The new chief, John Bennett, has been serving as station chief in Pakistan, overseeing in particular the expansion of the drone campaign carried out by the CIA there. One can safely take that as further evidence that the Obama administration does not take senior, deep participation in targeted killings using drones as something to be embarrassed about; quite the contrary. Bennett, a former Marine and Harvard graduate, had retired in...