The Use of Drones to Kill

For John, BLUF:  It isn't what is happening in combat that should concern us, but extrapolation of that capability to deal with quasi-civilian or civilian crime.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

The use of drones (UAVs) to take down targets of interest in the Global War on Terror has raised a lot of controversy.  The Department of Justice wrote an internal memorandum justifying the use of drones, which was leaked to NBC.  In my mind, if we are going after legitimate military targets in what is a combat zone, or in an area where guerrillas or terrorists are operating freely and openly, we are on solid ground.

The concern of some (and of me) is at the boundary.  When do such attacks violate (1) norms of international law, and in particular the concept of national sovereignty, and (2) the protections guaranteed by our Constitution to our own citizens, here and abroad, and resident aliens here?

A Pajamas Media writer from Ohio, Ms Paula Bolyard, asks a provocative question, "President Obama, Would You Send a Drone to Cuba to Kill the Weathermen?"  Put another way, "Which way is the wind blowing today in Bill Ayers' neighborhood?"

This is not such a far fetched question.  I knew a person killed by a bomb planted by Weathermen or Weathermen associated people.  An early version of an IED, or VBIED?  Ms Bolyard says:

It’s rather fascinating to compare members of the Weathermen to Anwar al-Awlaki, the American citizen-turned-terrorist who is the subject of the leaked white paper defining the parameters for drone strikes against American citizens abroad.

Early members of the Weathermen included Bernardine Dohrn, and her now husband, Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, and others.  Those folks are not heroes of mine, but they absolutely should have the protections guaranteed by the US Constitution, just like you and me.

And that is why we should all be concerned about secret drone attacks being carried out by the CIA.  It is one thing for the Commander of a military theater of operations or theater of war to allow such attacks.  It is totally different for the CIA to be doing it as part of a covert war.

And just to add to the concern, here is an item from The New York Times on China contemplating taking out a bandit in Burma with a drone.

Regards  —  Cliff