Drone attacks drain our legitimacy [View All]

[The Northerner]

Drones, or “unmanned aerial vehicles,” are military technologies that allow our government to conduct surveillance, launch missile strikes and even assassinate individuals all over the world, all without having to declare war and embroil our ground forces. The use of drone technology has enraged foreign governments such as Pakistan, which constantly suffers these attacks on their sovereignty.

Since coming to office, President Barack Obama has authorized more drone attacks than sanctioned in George W. Bush’s entire first term.

One such drone attack targeted the wrong house in Pakistan, killing 20 civilians with victims as young as 5 years old. The estimated death toll, according to the New America Foundation, has now risen to 2,300.

Meanwhile, as our country uses these drones in Pakistan, Yemen and Libya, their legality is being debated in the International Court of Justice. The Court has not come to a decision yet, but it is unlikely that they will rule in favor of such warfare.

To launch drone attacks on countries we are not at war with and to assassinate foreign citizens without the proper legal process (including a trial) is an unmistakable breach of every conventional law of war.

Read more: http://thedailycougar.com/2011/04/25/drone-attacks-drain-our-legitimacy/