Drones
312 Articles
Is the CIA Drone Program More Accurate than the DOD’s—and if so, why?
Some commentators suggest that we have the data: CIA-directed drone strikes appear to involve fewer civilian casualties (e.g., less collateral damage) on average than DOD-directed drone…
Why Civil Libertarians and Drone Critics Should Support David Barron
Sen. Rand Paul has an op-ed in the New York Times today opposing the nomination of David J. Barron to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit until the memos Barron wrote…
What’s Missing in New York Times’ “Latest” Version of US Military Role in Yemen
This weekend’s New York Times provided new details of a US special operations commando and a C.I.A. officer who killed two individuals attempting to kidnap the Americans inside…
Legal Action Taken to Expose Denmark’s Role in US Targeted Killing Program
As reported in today’s Just Security Roundup, news this morning out of Denmark is that the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) is pursuing a potential suite of legal actions…
Why Can’t We Even Say How Many We Have Killed?
On Monday, Just Security marked the ten-year anniversary of the disclosure of the Abu Ghraib scandal with a pair of eloquent posts by David Luban (Part 1 and Part 2). The Senate…
Drone Casualty Reporting Requirement Dropped from Intel Authorization Bill
Over the last several months, we’ve been following closely several legislative proposals in the House and Senate aimed at bringing greater transparency to the U.S. drone…
Letter to the Editor from Gabor Rona, Airstrikes in Yemen and Government Transparency
Thanks Ryan and Sarah for an excellent analysis of the NY Times article on the recent military activity in Yemen. In noting that the article is imprecise in its reference to “alleged…
How We Read a NYTimes Story on Drone Strikes in Yemen
In this post, we’re trying something new. Below, we present an almost line-by-line annotation of yesterday’s New York Times story on US and Yemeni military operations in…
Court Decision Supports Broader Disclosures on US Drone War
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision yesterday that the Obama administration had waived its right to refuse to turn over legal memos justifying the killing of a U.S.…
The Second Circuit and the Vices of Selective Disclosure
I’ve now had a full day to digest yesterday’s lengthy decision by the Second Circuit in New York Times v. Department of Justice, which, among other things, orders…
Ongoing “Drone Strikes” in Yemen Raise Four Questions
From Saturday to Monday morning, the US has reportedly been carrying out a series of air strikes in Yemen, delivering multiple blows to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).…
Second Circuit Orders Release of Redacted OLC Aulaqi Memo
A big morning for courts and national security… next up is this immensely significant decision from the Second Circuit in New York Times v. Department of Justice, which,…