We end our three-part review of 2014 with a round-up of what we think have been the 20 best pieces of journalism, research and commentary on drones during the past twelve months. If you think we have missed one, add a link in the comment section below.
Journalism
| Jan 2014 | What really happened when a U.S. drone hit a Yemeni wedding convoy? | Iona Craig’s forensic report on the December 2013 US drone strike |
| Feb 2014 | The NSA’s Secret Role in the US Assassination Program | Detailed investigative reporting from Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald |
| May 2014 | Israel’s drone dealers | Yotam Feldman’s film for Al Jazeera on Israel’s drone industry |
| Jun 2014 | When drones fall from the sky | Craig Whitlock’s three-part investigation into US drone crashes |
| Nov 2014 | The Unblinking Stare | Steve Coll’s long read overview of drone warfare for the New Yorker. |
| Nov 2014 | Obama’s Deadly Informants: The Drone Spotters of Pakistan | Umar Farooq & Syed Fakhar Kakakhel on the deadly life of drone informers |
Research/Reports
| Jan-Nov 2014 | Gaza: Life beneath the drones | |
| Apr 2014 | Drone Strikes in Pakistan: Reasons to Assess Civilian Casualties | US military researcher Larry Lewis investigates drone civilian casualty figures |
| Jun 2014 | Limiting Armed Drone Proliferation | Council on Foreign Relations report arguing for limits on drone exports |
| Jun 2014 | Recommendations and Report of the Stimson Task Force on US Drone Policy | Critical report on US drone operations by former senior US military/admin officials |
| Aug 2014 | US and allied airstrikes in Iraq & Syria 2014 | Chris Woods ongoing dataset of US & allied airstrikes/drone strikes in Iraq/Syria |
| Oct 2014 | The Security Impact of Drones: Challenges and Opportunities for the UK | Overview of the security impact of drones by Birmingham Policy Commission |
| Oct 2014 | New Ways of War: Is Remote Control Warfare Effective? | Digest of research conducted in first year of the Remote Control Project |
| Oct 2014 | Only 4% of drone victims in Pakistan named as al Qaeda members | The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports on the Naming the Dead project |
| Nov 2014 | You’ll Never Die Twice | Jennifer Gibson’s shocking report on the human cost of the US drone targeted killing programme in Pakistan |
Commentary
| Jan 2014 | The True Forever War | Micah Zenko argues that it is technology not policy that is expanding war |
| June 2014 | A Thin Rationale for Drone Killings | NYT scathing editorial on the Obama Administration’s drone memo |
| Sept 2014 | Drones and the Democracy Disconnect | How drones exacerbate the disconnect between us and the wars we wage |
| Sept 2014 | Why using drones is more dangerous than the government is telling you | Former US military analyst on the stress of being involved in the US drone campaign |
| Sept 2014 | Tonight with John Oliver: Drones | Satirist John Oliver talks drones |
…and finally, the most viewed on Drone Wars UK in 2014
| Mar 2014 | What’s wrong with drones? | It’s not just targeted killing – examining how drones impact on global peace and security |
| Oct 2014 | Rise of the Reapers: A brief history of drones | Our take on the birth and early history of the drone wars |
| Jan 2014 | Israel and the Drone Wars – New Briefing from Drone Wars UK | The development, use and proliferation of Israeli drones |
| Feb 2014 | British drone strikes in Afghanistan using borrowed US drones | Freedom of Information request reveals UK using US drones for strikes in Afghanistan as well as UK drones |
| May 2014 | Where are British Reaper drones heading after Afghanistan? | Examining where armed British Reaper drones could be deployed post Afghanistan. |
| Nov 2014 | Drones in Iraq and Syria: What we know and what we don’t | Early analysis of US and UK drones in Iraq and Syria |
Thanks for reading during the year and if you can support our work with a donation we’d be very grateful.