Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, “US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN’s top investigator of such crimes said.” UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston said, “The problem with the United States is that it is making an increased use of drones/Predators [which are] particularly prominently used now in relation to Pakistan and Afghanistan.” He added, “My concern is that drones/Predators are being operated in a framework which may well violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”
Obviously, our objective is not to kill innocent civilians, and the drones have been highly successful against terrorists, particularly in Pakistan. That’s probably why the UN is now so “concerned.” According to AFP, “Since August 2008, around 70 strikes by unmanned aircraft have killed close to 600 people in northwestern Pakistan.” Admittedly, it’s often difficult to tell the difference between regular “people” and terrorists, but AFP makes no attempt to distinguish the two. They’re almost as UN-helpful as the UN.
