Armed Drones and Targeted Killing: Policy Implications for Their Use in Deterring Violent Extremism
Abstract
Since 2002, the United States has used armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV),or drones, to conduct more than five hundred and fifty lethal strikes against known and suspected militants in its Global War on Terrorism.1 It appears that the United States' intent for these strikes, also referred to as targeted killings, is to disrupt the planning and execution of a violent extremist organizations (VEO) operations, and to deter, through punishment, other militants from using terror tactics in the future. This thesis focuses on the latter objective and investigates the utility of using drone strikes for deterrence. Through review of the available unclassified literature on the United States armed drone program, applicable U.S. policies, and fourth wave deterrence theory, this thesis endeavors to answer two questions: can drone strikes support a larger deterrent strategy? And what policy changes are necessary to support achieving the desired effect? This thesis argues that within the United States current counterterrorism strategy, armed drones do not provide a deterrent effect to terrorist organizations. However, if the U.S. modifies its counterterrorism policies to describe more clearly what constitutes a punishable terrorist activity, then unmanned aerial vehicles can serve as an effective tool to aid the U.S. efforts to deter the use of terrorism by violent extremist organizations against the U.S. and its allies citizens and national interests.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 17, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1032652
Entities
People
- Gary D. Rowley
Organizations
- National Defense University