Search: drones
04 Jun Administration Internal Divisions Over Drone Strikes in Pakistan?
...intelligence community, though I disagree with his take on drones) has a very interesting column on the issuance of a series of executive orders on the linkages between them. One consequence of the early “war on terror” years was that the lines between CIA and military activities got blurred. The Pentagon moved into clandestine areas that had traditionally been the province of the CIA. Special Forces began operating secretly abroad in ways that worried the CIA, the State Department and foreign governments. The Obama administration is finishing an effort to...03 Sep Ben Wittes’ Unconvincing “Hostage-Taking” Analogy (Updated)
...assets? I’m sure he’s shaking. This leads to my second point: The idea that Anwar al-Alauqi is being targeted for death and has no means of availing himself of his rights as a U.S. national is wrong. Like the hostage-taker, he has a remedy that will ensure his safety and give him the opportunity to defend himself: He can turn himself in. He can knock on the door of any U.S. consulate and say, “I hear you guys are looking for me.” No special forces guys, Predator drones, or air...12 Mar Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, March 12, 2013
...“Commission of Inquiry” by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate potential human rights abuses, calling it a “plot” against their nation filled with “faked material … invented by the hostile forces, defectors and other rabbles.” A British judge has delayed the decision on Islamic Cleric Abu Qatada’s deportation until the end of this month. The Volokh Conspiracy has a post about ICC jurisdiction over Israeli settlements. Foreign Policy weighs in on drones and reports that not only do more countries have access to them, they’re becoming smaller and smarter....20 Feb AlphaDogs, Cheetah-bots, and Mecha-Avatars
...includes the “room clearing, sentry control [and] combat casualty recovery.” And all at the bidding of their human partner. [Emphasis added.] You can place a Terminator or Avatar joke here (two James Cameron movies, huh), but I think this is a better film metaphor (and it’s by “District 9 ” director Neill Blomkamp). So, while these mecha-avatars will not be autonomous, they will be remotely-controlled armed bipedal drones. As a legal matter, one could say that this is similar to our current use of UAV’s. But I don’t think so....
11 Feb Platforms on the Frontline: The Rise of the Platform Model in Defense Tech
...warfighting missions across the African continent. OpenAI has also signed a recent deal with Anduril to combine OpenAI’s models with Anduril’s hardware and software for detecting and shooting down drones. Meta, in collaboration with military startup Scale AI, is promoting its flagship large language model, Llama, as a convenient tool for military planning and decision-making. As reported by The Intercept, ‘Defense Llama’ has already raised concerns among experts about the ‘flawed,’ ‘worthless,’ and ‘irresponsible’ answers given in an online demo using the tool for airstrike planning. While we should be...29 Aug Accountability and Legitimacy of International NGOs
(Shameless self-promotion alert!) I have been meaning to mention a new essay of mine in a fine symposium issue of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law that came out a few weeks ago, ‘Accountability’ as ‘Legitimacy’: Global Governance, Global Civil Society, and the United Nations. I’ve linked to the SSRN page, but I see that all the articles from the symposium issue are up on Westlaw. I’ve put the abstract below the fold, but I suppose I should say that not all my time is spent droning about drones …...03 Aug ACLU and CCR Sue OFAC over Expenditures Related to Al-Awlaki Lawsuits
...con format – on targeted killing and drones up at the Congressional Quarterly blog. I’ll try to find a link later; not sure if it is public or not.) (ps. Thanks to Ben for his comment on my earlier Eastern Sierra post – just wanted to say that among other day hikes, we did indeed make it to Heart Lake.) Update: Politico is now reporting that OFAC will permit the license for the underlying lawsuit, on the fundamental targeting issues, to proceed, presumably mooting this suit. (Thanks to Mark Field.)...17 Jul Political Science Fiction
...disciplines were formalized; 3) literature, however, largely has remained unbounded, able to probe realms of statecraft which other disciplines have placed off–limits… (p.7) This is all the more true with the realm of science fiction which probes areas that today are becoming science fact all too quickly: the expansion of the surveillance state (Hallo, Huxley! How do you do, Mr. Orwell?), cyberwarfare (Paging the U.S. Cybercommand: William Gibson would like his future back), and the use of drones (Are we waiting for Godot or for Skynet?). But science fiction is...15 Jul Weekday News Wrap: Monday, July 15, 2013
...has reinstated the genocide charge. The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) clashed with fighters from the M23 rebel group close to Goma in what was reported to be the most serious combat in several weeks. At least 60,000 refugees from the eastern DRC have now arrived in neighboring Uganda after fleeing attacks. U.N. peacekeepers in the DRC will begin using unarmed drones on a trial basis to monitor its war-torn east. The US military reports that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay may end their hunger strike....08 Feb Weekday News Wrap: Friday, February 8, 2013
Syrian troops are battling rebels around Damascus, trying to halt their advance on the capital. The ICC has demanded the extradition of Libya’s Abdullah al-Senussi to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity under Gaddafi’s regime. A UN survey has found that more than $3.9 billion was paid out in bribes in Afghanistan in 2012, amounting to more than double the nation’s domestic revenue. President Obama’s nominee for the director of the CIA, John Brennan, was questioned heavily yesterday during Senate confirmation hearings about drones and torture. As...