Unlawful Combatants at the Controls: The CIA, Armed RPAS and LOAC
Abstract
"The principle of distinction between combatant and civilian is at the root of the Law of War." Historically, the law of war in international armed conflict is based almost exclusively on the idea of warfare between the armed forces of nation states. Yet increasingly since September 11, 2001, as we engage a new kind of enemy in Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, this model has been altered and many players, including the United States, have deviated from accepted international legal norms. The US government has increasingly engaged in asymmetrical means of warfare, disregarding the legal framework in which combatants and non-combatants participate in international armed conflict, blurring the foundational law of war principle of distinction between combatants and non-combatants. One such example is the use of personnel - civilians - from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct airstrikes with remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), or drones, in Afghanistan and Pakistan against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 16, 2011
- Accession Number
- AD1018753
Entities
People
- Scott T. Ecton
Organizations
- Air War College