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"We don't even need to get to the nuance of who's who, and are people there for rescue or not. Because each death is illegal. Each death is a murder in that case."
Attorney for the charity Reprieve, Clive Stafford-Smith, said drone strikes targeting rescuers "are like attacking the Red Cross on the battlefield. It's not legitimate to attack anyone who is not a combatant."
Congress never debated or approved them. In the Af/Pak theater, America has about 7,000 drones operating. Another 12,000 stand ready on the the ground. They're rapidly replacing manned aircraft. US aerospace companies have no ongoing research to develop new ones.
Privately some Pentagon commanders express unease about Obama's drone policy. They're extrajudicial. CIA enforces extreme secrecy. It won't admit their operations exist.
Legal experts say drone killings outside war theaters set a dangerous precedent. Other countries may follow America's lead. UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns said:
"Our concern is how far does it go? Will the whole world be a theatre of war?""Drones, in principle, allow collateral damage to be minimized but because they can be used without danger to a country's own troops they tend to be used more widely."
"One doesn't want to use the term ticking bomb but it's extremely seductive."
TBIJ reported harrowing narratives of survivors, witnesses, and family members. It provided detailed information on specific strikes.
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