Search: drones
20 Aug Online Symposium: Presumptive Validity of Executive Emergency Action?
...basis of many assertions (Iraq-al Qaeda link, uranium ore, aluminum tubes, mobile labs, drones, chemical and biological weapons, etc.) that were false. I see no grounds for presumptive validity or any automatic trust in superior expertise that resides in the executive branch. As a second point, I find it curious that the two authors regularly claim a lack of competence or expertise on their part to second-guess decisions by the executive branch in time of emergency. As they say, “as lawyers, we do not have any experience regarding optimal security...15 Apr Advice for the U.S. delegation in Kampala
Harold Koh’s ASIL speech drew lots of attention for his defense of the legality of U.S. use of aerial drones. But Koh also spent much of the speech explaining and defending the U.S. decision to reorient its relationship toward the International Criminal Court. He noted U.S. attendance (as an observer) at the ICC Assembly of States Parties in November, and U.S. plans to send a delegation to Kampala, Uganda at the end of next month for the ICC Review Conference. That meeting will be a “big” one as the parties...12 Feb Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, February 12, 2013
...shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men. The UN has urged a greater push toward ending forced labor. Human Rights Watch offers a Q&A about Laurent Gbagbo, the former Ivory Coast president before the ICC for the alleged commission of crimes against humanity; the confirmation of the charges hearing is set to take place next Tuesday, February 19. The LA Times has an op-ed asking the questions related to the use of drones: Are we creating more enemies than we are killing? Esquire has a piece on one...23 Feb Weekly News Wrap: Monday, February 23, 2015
...national for drugs trafficking. Oceania Australian air force personnel have begun training on armed drones in the United States, Australian defense officials said on Monday, less than a week after Washington said it would begin exporting the controversial weapons system. Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced that his government will tighten immigration laws and crack down on groups that incite hatred under a raft of counterterrorism measures introduced in a bid to combat the threat from “home-grown terrorists”. UN/World United Nations war crimes investigators plan to publish names of...17 Nov Here There Bee (More) Pirates … and Might the Obama Administration Take Them Out?
...not use Predator drones and patrol from afar; he responded that such invisible patrols were useful, but that the fundamental operational problem was that once the pirates were aboard, they then had hostages and the whole situation changed. In effect, the attack could be treated as pure battle until the pirates had hostages, but then it turned operationally into counter-terrorism and hostage-negotiation. It was therefore crucial, in his view – he had studied earlier rounds of piracy in these same waters, in which incidents had gone down because Japan and...07 Jun Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, June 7, 2012
The brother of Abu Yahya al-Libi (the militant allegedly killed by a drone strike earlier this week), claims that the US’ drone program is inhumane and makes a mockery of the US claims of upholding human rights standards. IPS offers an opinion piece about how drones fire both ways. In what could have been retaliation for the killing of Abu Yahya al-Libi, a bomb has exploded outside the US mission in Benghazi, Libya. Slate has an Explainer column discussing how hard it is to shoot down a drone. The Sentencing...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...22 May Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Iraq is buying US-made drones in order to carry out surveillance over their oil fields. After a suicide bomber kills 90 people in Yemen, al-Qaeda vows more attacks until the US-backed campaign against militants stops. The US is apparently weighing their stance on secrecy of the drone program employed to carry out targeted killings, according to the Wall Street Journal. Former dictator of Guatemala, Efrain Rios Montt, will face a second genocide trial after a judge ordered he could be prosecuted for ordering a 1982 massacre that killed 201 people....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....