Usage of Military Drones - Research Paper Example

Law: use of military drones Military drones Drones are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and are aircrafts that are controlled by remote and may be armed with bombs and missiles for attack missions. From the time the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists, the US has employed drones in killing alleged terrorists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen as well as other countries. Advocates claim that drones have annihilated the networks of terrorists abroad through accurate strikes with little or no civilian casualties. Proponents further argue that drones are comparatively low-priced weapons that are deployed under appropriate government supervision. In addition, their deployment assists in preventing “boots on the ground” war, hence making the US safer (Boon & Lovelace, 2014). Opponents on the other hand claim that drones lead to the emergence of more terrorists than the ones they kill. They further argue that drone strikes murder large numbers of innocent civilians, violating international law, are not under adequate congressional supervision, grossly infringes on the sovereignty of other countries in addition to making the terrors of war look as harmless as a video game(Mathews,2013). The most popular form of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs)-which basically are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) armed with combat abilities-is the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. Predators were for the first time deployed to Afghanistan nearly instantly after the terrorists attacks of Sept.11, 2001.In addition, predators carried out their initial ever armed operation in 7th October 2001 in Afghanistan. The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, which is a bigger UCAV, has the capability of hauling a higher payload and has been in service from 2007. The Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC) and CIA are presently jointly administering the current program. These drones are usually deployed in such countries as Yemen, Somali and Pakistan. Strikes in Pakistan for instance have been happening from 2004 and intensified in pace from the beginning of 2008 summer. Apart from a Yemen strike in November 2002, the Yemen and Somalia campaigns started in 2011.In addition, there have been accounts of strikes occurring in the Philippines, however, the information there is unclear. Additionally, there have done that have been deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya as part of America’s more conservative military operations in those nations (Boon & Lovelace, 2014). Predator drones are capable of carrying up to 2 Hellfire missiles, having warheads of around 20 pounds, and designed to penetrate tank armor; their destruction outside of the targeted vehicle is usually limited. There is another alternative warhead in service which is manufactured by Lockheed Martin and is extremely lethal with least collateral damage (Benjamin, 2013). On the other hand Reapers feature a payload of 1.5 tons or 3,000 maximum weight. This implies that they can haul a mixture of Hellfires and bigger 500 pound bombs such as the GBD-38 JDAM and GBU-12 Paveway II. These have an efficient “casualty radius” of approximately 200 feet implying that around 50% of people within the approximate radius of 200 feet will be killed(Boon & Lovelace, 2014).There have been 2 drone attacks in Somalia, 53 in Yemen and 347 in Pakistan. Beginning 2008 to October 2012, 1,015 attacks were carried out in Afghanistan, 105 in Libya and 48 in Iraq. This is not inclusive of Libya strikes in September 2011, Iraq and Afghanistan strikes from 2001 to 2007 or those that carried in October 2012.Basically al-Qaeda as well as its associates are the main targets of drone attacks. This is also inclusive of al-Qaeda operating in the Arabian Peninsula and also operates in Yemen and al-Shaabab in Somalia. The Haqqani Network operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan is also another target of drone attack. One single Philippines strike was conducted whose target was Umar Patek-an Indonesian terrorist group(Jemaah Islamiyah) leader who assisted in orchestrating the Bali attacks in 2002 killing 95 people. There have been cases of American citizens killed by drone attacks such as American-born al-Qaeda operative in Yemen known as Anwar al-Awlaki together with his 12 year old American son. Others are North Carolina native Samir Khan and American born Ahmed Hijazi, who was based in Yemen (Boon & Lovelace, 2014). According to New America, the total number of civilian deaths in Yemen and Pakistan is estimated to be around 276 and 368.Of this number 118-135 were killed under the reign of President Bush. The Bureau of investigative Journalism reports that between 446 and 978 civilian have been killed and the number rises to 993 when Somalia is included. Of those killed,179 to 209 were children. According to a study by Stanford/NYU, drone attacks have caused significant psychological trauma to Pakistan residents in addition to deterring relief workers from operating in the targeted areas (Villasenor, 2012). The 1st amendment protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference whereas the 4th amendment provides for the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, paper, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures”. These two amendments have been the foundation of privacy from intrusion by the government since 1791.A drone by virtue of its infrared detection as a method of surveillance of people’s private property is a violation of the 4th Amendment (Villasenor, 2012). Drone attacks make America safer by destroying terrorists’ networks across the globe. Thus, drone attacks that have been conducted in Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan have eliminated over 3,500 militants, comprising dozens of senior-level commanders involved in planning plots against America. President Obama claims that several highly skilled al Qaeda trainers, commanders, bomb makers as well as other operatives have been removed from the battleground. Numerous plots have been thwarted that would have targeted European cities, US transit systems, as well as American troops in Afghanistan. Basically put, these attacks have saved numerous lives (Benjamin, 2003). Drones attacks are conducted with the encouragement and collaboration of respective local governments, hence making those nations safer. This implies that US drone attacks assist nations in fighting terrorist threats to their own local stability and peace comprising Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan ,Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, Mali and Algeria and al Shabaab in Somalia. For instance, President of Yemen, Abdu Rabbu Mansour, has openly supported drones attacks in his nation. General Ashfaq Kayani, who is Pakistani’s Chief of Army Staff, had requested US officials to increase drone attacks in a 2008 State Department Cable that was leaked by Wikileaks. Former Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, in April 2013, acknowledged to CNN that his administration had clandestinely signed off US drone attacks. In addition drones have led resulted in a major decline in violence (Villasenor, 2012). Lastly, the US cannot afford lagging behind the rest of the world as far as drone technology development is concerned. Over 87 countries have some kind of attack or surveillance drone. This is transforming the manner in which countries conduct war and therefore threatening to start a new arms race as countries strive to counterbalance their enemies. Iran in 2010 unveiled sits first ever armed drone while China unveiled 25 models of drone. In 2011, for instance, there were around 680 active drone development programs that were being run by companies, governments as well as research institutes around the globe, in comparison with only 195 in 2005(Mathews, 2013).The use of drones would not in any way violate the 1st and 4th amendment. The fourth amendment offers the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” and has been a key pillar of privacy from intrusion of the government from 1971.The 4th amendment has served America for over 2 centuries of technology advances and hence there is no need to anticipate it will immediately lose its protective power especially when domestic deployment of unmanned aircraft becomes widespread (Mathews, 2013). President Obama, in February 2002 assented to an FAA bill into law, which provides for the incorporation of “drones,” or more accurately, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), into America’s airspace. As a result, this has led to genuine apprehensions that UAVs may be deployed by the government in methods that violate privacy rights, especially in lieu of 3 1980s Supreme Court rulings that did not find any 4th Amendment violation in unwarranted surveillance from manned government craft (Bomboy, 2014). The court in1986, in a case of California v.Ciraolo, for instance, ruled that officers who discovered marijuana plants in the backyard of a suspect from an aircraft at a height of 1000 feet had not violated the 4th Amendment. After another 3 years, in Florida v. Riley, most justices arrived at the same ruling regarding surveillance made of marijuana plants discovered in a greenhouse at a height of 400 feet from a helicopter (Bomboy, 2014). The above decisions do in fact demonstrate that government investigators will at times make use of UAVs with no warrants. Nevertheless, this does not imply that all UAV surveillance by the government, no matter how enveloping, will be constitutional. Indeed ,after a careful analysis of the decisions in these as well as other appropriate Supreme Court cases implies that the 4th Amendment may offer considerably more protection than is frequently assumed(Villasenor,2012). References Boon, K, Lovelace, D. (2014). The Drone Wars of the 21st Century:Costs and Benefits. London: Oxford University Press. Dylan, M. (2013). Everything You Need to know About Drone Debate,in one FAQ. The Washington Post , np. John, V. (2012). Will "Drones" Outflank the Fourth Amendment? Forbes.Com , np. Medea, B. (2013). Drone Warfare:Killing by Remote Control. New York. Scott, B. (2014). A Legal Victory for Drones Warrants a Fourth Amendment Discussion. Constitutional Daily , np. Read More