Abstract
The Obama administration, during his presidency, had embarked on a mission to redefine the guidelines for the development and deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. There are a number of debates surrounding the use of drones, the most contentious of which have been as to whether governments have legal authorization to do so, and of how combatant status is defined under current international law. The most salient issue today regarding the deployment of drones has been the “culture of secrecy.” In Obama’s first second term, his administration promised significant improvements on openness and scrutiny for U.S. drones strikes in a major speech in May 2013. Although the US has presented a public move to distill the US drone policy more out of the shadows, the actual mechanism by which the US is actually, in practice, employing armed drones and executing targeted killings still presents serious international legal questions. Recently, the White House had proposed that the Pentagon would take over much of the drone operations from the CIA, whereby making drone strikes more transparent. Yet, during this same period, the Obama administration has not shifted key aspects of the drone program to that of being unclassified in form. Given the alarming increase in the use of drones and the sophistication and ease by which such weapons can be used in violent situations, the time is now for the Trump administration to take action on critical alterations of the current policy in the use of drones.
Highlights
The Obama administration, during his presidency, had embarked on a mission to redefine the guidelines for the development and deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones
The Trump administration has embarked on a mission to redefine the guidelines for the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, thereby altering significantly the policy set by his predecessor
There are a number of debates surrounding the use of drones, the most contentious of which have been as to whether governments have legal authorization to do so, and of how combatant status is defined under current international law
Summary
Drones generally fall into two categories: those that are used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes, and those that are armed with weapons for military purposes. Drones can be armed which suits its use for military operations. Teal Group’s 2015 market study estimates that UAV production will soar from current worldwide UAV production of $4 billion annually to $14 billion, totaling $93 billion in the ten years (Finnegan, 2015) This raises a serious question: What happens when an overwhelming majority of nations have drones? The news did little to alter the regional balance of power, Nigeria joined the small but fast-growing club of countries that have been utilizing armed drones for targeted killing. By at least one measure at this point in his presidency, Trump has been more interventionist than Obama (Zenko, 2017): in authorizing drone strikes and special operations raids in non-battlefield settings (namely, in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia). These include three drone strikes in Yemen on January 20, 21, and 22; the January 28 Navy SEAL raid in Yemen; one reported strike in Pakistan on March 1; more than thirty strikes in Yemen on March 2 and 3; and at least one more on March 6 (Zenko, 2017)
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