Posted on 11/24/2012 9:38:33 PM PST by Seizethecarp
WASHINGTON Facing the possibility that President Obama might not win a second term, his administration accelerated work in the weeks before the election to develop explicit rules for the targeted killing of terrorists by unmanned drones, so that a new president would inherit clear standards and procedures, according to two administration officials.
The matter may have lost some urgency after Nov. 6. But with more than 300 drone strikes and some 2,500 people killed by the Central Intelligence Agency and the military since Mr. Obama first took office, the administration is still pushing to make the rules formal and resolve internal uncertainty and disagreement about exactly when lethal action is justified.
More broadly, the administrations legal reasoning has not persuaded many other countries that the strikes are acceptable under international law. For years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the United States routinely condemned targeted killings of suspected terrorists by Israel, and most countries still object to such measures.
But since the first targeted killing by the United States in 2002, two administrations have taken the position that the United States is at war with Al Qaeda and its allies and can legally defend itself by striking its enemies wherever they are found.
The attempt to write a formal rule book for targeted killing began last summer after news reports on the drone program, started under President George W. Bush and expanded by Mr. Obama, revealed some details of the presidents role in the shifting procedures for compiling kill lists and approving strikes. Though national security officials insist that the process is meticulous and lawful, the president and top aides believe it should be institutionalized, a course of action that seemed particularly urgent when it appeared that Mitt Romney might win the presidency.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“Partly because United Nations officials know that the United States is setting a legal and ethical precedent for other countries developing armed drones, the U.N. plans to open a unit in Geneva early next year to investigate American drone strikes.”
Could the UN actually dare to contemplate investigating the Nobel Prize winner and acclaimed worldwide favored winning candidate in the 2012 election for “war crimes”?
True. We all know 0bama’s drone strikes in Pakistan is ‘PRACTICE FOR HERE’ by the U.S. Gov’t anyway. Would 0bama be doing that if that were not the case? NO.
See Caltech micro-UAV survey of near future asymmetric lethal capabilities with declassified roadmap for multiple Kamikazi micro-UAV anti-personnel drones:
http://www.pickar.caltech.edu/e103/papers/Micro%20UAVs.pdf
In the near future, micro-UAVs will experience the most growth in the defense industry, as their surveillance capabilities will be highly sought after in a world of asymmetric warfare.
Furthermore, micro-UAVs will develop the capability to execute lethal force on the battlefield, as infantry and special operations forces develop an acceptance of unmanned technologies. This shift will initially be imperfectly implemented though, as a learning curve exists at the senior leadership level of the military and the Department of Defense.
Consider Figure 2 from a recently declassified Air Force Report, which details the MAV capabilities that are desired in the future: (see figure page 7)
ii. Strike Capability
Another capability that we examined in depth was the ability of a MAV to execute lethal force. We began with the hypothesis that in the near future increased payload capacities would allow MAVs to deploy some specially adapted weapons system. Our most recent research illustrates that although there is a desire to weaponize MAVs, payload capacity is not increasing fast enough to make this a reality. Thus, AeroVironment led an effort to develop a small unmanned aerial system referred to as the Switchblade (pictured below), which is small enough to be carried in a backpack, can be launched into the air through a tube, can stream real-time video, and carries a small warhead that explodes on impact. Thus, the system is designed to be a small, unmanned Kamikaze capable of eliminating small groups of individuals and light vehicles. AeroVironment received $4.9 million for this project in 2011 from DARPA, $5.1 million from the U.S. Army on March 20, 2012, and the company predicts that the device will be carried by American soldiers in 1-2 years [10].
This prediction, with regards to UAVs, is in line with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap released by the Department of Defense, which predicts that the Predator and Global Hawk platforms (the major full size UAV systems used today) will be in service until 2030. (see future UAV roadmap page 10)
well he will need it anyway in 4 years....he ain’t giving up the throne just because some “stupid constitution”, says he must.
As if Mitt wanted his advice.
We all know? We do?
One could as easily posit that Big Ears doesn’t want the glory to go to actual jet fighter/bomber pilots. Unless an American armageddon is going to occur with a patriot resistance composed of goat herders in tents amidst vast oceans of burning sand, this sounds like odd practice for that.
I don’t buy this BS for one second.
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