Drones
320 Articles
The Drone Memo Cometh
“Severe Clear,” a project by artist David Birkin. Skywriting appears over New York City in a celestial “Glomar” response. For more, see Birkin’s post here. In…
10 Years of Drone Strikes in Pakistan–but do you know whether it’s an “area of active hostilities”?
Today marks the ten-year anniversary of the first reported US drone strike in Pakistan (punctuated by another one today). Yet there is still official silence about a crucial…
US Resumes Drone Strikes in Pakistan: A New Course of Action?
In the past 24-48 hours, the United States has reportedly conducted two successive drone strikes in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area—ending an almost six-month suspension of…
A(nother) Procedural Roadblock for Drone Casualty Reporting Requirements
Yesterday, efforts to bring greater transparency to the U.S. drone program hit a(nother) legislative procedural roadblock, as the House Rules Committee voted to not include an…
Civilian Casualty Rates in CIA vs. DOD Drone Programs: Apples and Oranges
Much attention has been given to whether CIA-directed or DOD-directed drone strikes result in fewer civilian casualties. Last week I wrote about the mixed evidence when it comes…
Major development concerning transparency of the use of force in Yemen
“I think the rule should be that if we’re going to take actions overseas that result in the deaths of people, the United States should take responsibility for that.”…
Ending the Forever War: One Year After President Obama’s NDU Speech
Today, May 23, 2014, marks the one-year anniversary of President’s important speech at the National Defense University (NDU) setting forth his proposed framework for post-9/11…
David Barron and the OTHER missing memos
David Barron was just confirmed to the First Circuit. To secure that vote, the Administration announced it would not appeal the Second Circuit’s order to turn over a redacted…
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…