Does Using Drones to Attack Terrorists Globally Violate Interenational Law?

Does Using Drones to Attack Terrorists Globally Violate Interenational Law?

The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan.

These strikes are carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and have increased substantially under the Presidency of Barack Obama. Generally the UAVs used are MQ-1 Predator and more recently MQ-9 Reaper firing AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. The drones have become a weapon of choice for the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda. Some media refer to the series of attacks as a "drone war". Pakistan's government publicly condemns these attacks but has secretly shared intelligence with Americans and also allegedly allowed the drones to operate from Shamsi Airfield in Pakistan.

Assessments of the results of the attacks differ. Daniel Byman from the Brookings Institution suggests that drone strikes may kill "10 or so civilians" for every militant killed. The Pakistani military has stated that most of those killed were hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism based on extensive research found that at least 385 civilians were among the dead out of a total of between 1658 and 2597 killed. The CIA believes that the strikes conducted since May 2010 have killed over 600 militants and not caused any civilian fatalities. According to secret cables leaked by Wikileaks Pakistan's Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani not only tacitly agreed to the drone flights but in 2008 requested Americans to increase them. However Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said "Drone missiles cause collateral damage. A few militants are killed, but the majority of victims are innocent citizens," The strikes are often linked to Anti-American...