UN official criticises US over drone attacks

The use of targeted killings with weapons like drone aircraft poses a growing challenge to the international rule of law. The UN sees the US's use of drone attacks as damaging the rules laid out to protect the right of life. President Obama is increasingly using the drones to take out military leaders in the Middle East. The UN is particularly criticizing the drones for being the cause of death of hundreds of civilians. The UN suggests that the drone killings carry a significant risk of becoming war crimes. They are worried that since the "pilots" of the drones are thousands of miles away from the battlefield, they are developing a "PlayStation mentality." If these soldiers are killing people in different countries without even leaving the barracks back home, then they are simply viewing each kill as a target instead of an actual human being. If the UN had it their way they would only use targeted killing in "special circumstances," and not as often as Obama is ordering them. The UN expresses concern that the US has put forward what they describe as "a novel theory that there is a law of 9/11", enabling it to legally use force in the territory of other states as part of its inherent right to self-defence. This interpretation of the right to self-defence, he says, would "cause chaos" if invoked by other nations. Basically, they want the rules of conflict to be updated to encompass weapons that may strike a long way away from any traditional definition of the battlefield. If this were to happen it would drastically hinder counter-terrorist operations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10219962.stm

Submitted by: Nate Heberlein