Introduction: a frightening new way of war -- Why drones are more dangerous than nuclear weapons -- Drones and assassination in the US's permanent war -- The predator war -- A global assassination program -- The grim toll drones take on innocent lives -- Documenting civilian casualties -- US policy of targeting killing with drones: illegal at any speed -- Drone warfare and just war theory -- Al-Aulaqi v. Obama: targeted killing goes to court -- The case o f Israel: a covert policy of political capital punishment -- Drone strike blowback -- Surveillance drones in America -- To stop the drones? -- Appendix A. Department of Justice white paper: Lawfulness of a lethal operation directed against a US citizen who is a senior operational leader of Al-Qaida or an associated force -- Appendix B. White House: fact sheet: US policy standards and procedures for the use of force in counterterrorism operations outside the United States and areas of active hostilities.
Summary:
The Bush administration detained and tortured suspected terrorists; the Obama administration assassinates them. Assassination, or targeted killing, off the battlefield not only causes more resentment against the United States, it is also illegal. In this interdisciplinary collection, human rights and political activists, policy analysts, lawyers and legal scholars, a philosopher, a journalist, and a sociologist examine different aspects of the U.S. policy of targeted killing with drones and other methods. It explores the legality, morality and geopolitical considerations of targeted killing and resulting civilian casualties, and evaluates the impact on relations between the United States and affected countries. The book includes the documentation of civilian casualties by the leading non-governmental organization in this area; stories of civilians victimized by drones; an analysis of the first U.S. targeted killing lawsuit by the lawyer who brought the case; a discussion of the targeted killing cases in Israel by the director of PCATI which filed one of the lawsuits; the domestic use of drones; and the immorality of drones using Just War principles.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.