US drone strikes resumed this week in Pakistan with the first strike taking place on Wednesday evening near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. This was quickly followed by a second strike early Thursday morning, although as the Bureau… Read More ›
Over the past decade the use of armed drones has dramatically increased and spread with drone strikes reported to have taken place in up to ten countries. Although the US use of drones in Pakistan and Yemen has been most controversial and… Read More ›
On Thursday (23 Oct) President Obama gave a much-trailed speech on counterterrorism, large parts of which focused on the US use of drones. At the same time a ‘fact sheet’ on US policy on the use of force outside declared… Read More ›
This week the New York Times reported that the US is planning to establish a new base for its drones in north-west Africa. While the base is to be used initially to fly unarmed surveillance drones, according to the article the… Read More ›
This week we have seen a US drone strike in Pakistan which was reported to have killed six people (or ‘militants’ as those killed by drones are normally labelled) and a strike in Yemen which was reported to have killed… Read More ›
The concern that drones make armed attacks and military intervention more likely is often rejected by the military and the drone industry, who argue that the drone pilots are able to stand above the ‘fog and friction’ of the battlefield and to… Read More ›
We’re reposting this short report, together with the links to further information, that we have just received today: Centcom.mil released on 22 March 2012 a declassified 2,100-page report on slaughter of 23 Afghan non-combatants – men, women, children – in February… Read More ›
For the first time, the United States has confirmed that it is undertaking drone strikes in Pakistan. Many may feel that this has long been an open secret as unnamed officials regularly take to the press about CIA drone strikes. However… Read More ›
There has been intense media coverage of the downing of a US drone in Iran over the past week. Iran has previously claimed that it has shot down ‘Western drones’ (as we reported here) but they have never provided proof despite saying they… Read More ›
NATO commanders have asked the US to send more Predator drones to Libya to enable them to find more targets. After four months of airstrikes, NATO forces are having trouble locating new military targets. As one senior officer put it… Read More ›
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) a not-for-profit investigative journalism organisation, has uncovered compelling evidence of civilian deaths in US drone strikes in Pakistan. The evidence directly contradicts the recent statement by President Obama’s counter-terrorism adviser that ‘there hasn’t been… Read More ›
After something of a lull, US drone strikes have returned with a vengeance to Pakistan over the past two weeks, the latest of which, killed six people this afternoon. In addition strikes have taken place on 10th, 12th, 13th and 16 May. According… Read More ›
The Washington Post reported today (Feb 21st) that out of 118 CIA drone strikes in Pakistan only 13 ‘High Value Targets’ had been killed, of which only two were on the US’ Most Wanted list. According to the New American… Read More ›
The Washington Post reported this week that vast amount of video footage from drones are overwhelming analysts. According to Marine Corps General James Cartwright, Vice Chair of the Military Joint Chiefs of Staff, the video is “boring intelligence analysts to… Read More ›
