Illicit Drones?

Oh Snap! - Say it ain't so!
Great Satan's Exemptionalism in the "Drones Gone Wild!" series are attracting more funintended consequences than a posse of hotties at the Mall's food court:

Great Satan's willpower, staying power and fire power

"...to use force including lethal force to defend itself including by targeting persons such as high-level Al Qaeda leaders who are planning attacks..."

is totally queering the rap bay bee on

"...the issue raised last October by UN Special Rapporteur Richard Alston that if the targeting of individuals was considered prima facie valid simply under the basis of self-defence then the war in Gaza (documented in the GoldstoneReport)"

"Simply put, if all extra-judicial targeted killings were so easily justified based on the premise of self-defence then any nation could be allowed under the flimsiest of pretexts to encroach on another’s territory to kill individuals they believed were involved in hostile acts against it."


So what?


"The current wrangling over the legality of drone attacks marks the beginning of the development of the legal regimes that will govern warfare in a new era. In standing up for the sovereignty of smaller nations Pakistan can ensure that the existence of borders is not a superfluous exercise noted by superpowers only when convenient, and disregarded when strategic interests dictate otherwise."


Aside from being quite risible in attorney heavy exercises involving non profit jawflapping this is significant.


After all, if "...any nation..." can sweetly annihilate their enemies anywhere on earth then the burden may fall on entire regimes to actually do their gigs as regimes and ensure non state actor outers are nowhere near their precious turf.

Case in point? Land of the Pure.

New America Foundation's fully crunk (caution - it's smoking hot!) "Drones Gone Wild! - the Box Set" faithfully details all the naughty hottie details on Stuff and Strikes in Pakistan from 2004 - 2010.

At a sextimated 32% of all targets hit were innocent folks going about their daily life does have results - though certainly not what the attorney brigades are looking for!

"It is in this context that they would welcome anyone, Americans, Israelis, Indians or even the devil, to rid them of the Taliban and al Qaeda. Therefore, they welcome the drone attacks.
"Secondly, the people feel comfortable with the drones because of their precision and targeted strikes. People usually appreciate drone attacks when they compare it with the Pakistan Army’s attacks, which always result in collateral damage.


The homegrown natives of drone striking impact areas are generally


"...appreciating the precision of drone strikes. People say that when a drone would hover over the skies, they wouldn’t be disturbed and would carry on their usual business because they would be sure that it does not target the civilians, but the same people would run for shelter when a Pakistani jet would appear in the skies because of its indiscriminate firing.


"They say that even in the same compound only the exact room — where a high value target (HVT) is present — is targeted. Thus others in the same compound are spared.

"The people of Waziristan have been complaining why the drones are only restricted to targeting the Arabs.


"They want the drones to attack the TTP leadership, the Uzbek/Tajik/Turkmen, Punjabi and Pakhtun Taliban.


Zooming out of AFPAK and considering the world at large perhaps Drones should be done with the four L's:


Lethality, legality, legitimacy, and likelihood


Pic - "A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed tomorrow."