US kills two top leaders of terror group that attacked Kenya mall

[Maedhros]

169. No - they do not have magical properties.

Here are my problems with drones:

* The accuracy of a drone strike is only as good as the human intel that identifies the target. The human intel is often bad or absent, therefore we frequently use "signature strikes" to target unknown individuals who appear to be acting like they might be "terrorists." When this practice errs and results in the death of innocents, we simply define all the innocents as "militants" if they are of military age. Contrary to apparently popular opinion on DU, I believe it is not acceptable to kill a bunch of villagers and hope God sorts out the good from the bad.

* The government can claim that anyone killed by a drone strike is a high-ranking [insert organization here] member without providing a scrap of evidence or justification other than the statements of anonymous "senior officials." This is so bad that killing "al Qaeda's #2 man" has become a running joke, given the sheer number of "#2 men" supposedly killed this way.

* Drones are most often justified with the need to take retaliative action against "terrorists" in places where it's not convenient to attempt to capture them (i.e. on the "battlefield&quot . This justification makes some sense in the context of traditional wars, where it is indeed difficult to conduct law enforcement operations on an actual battlefield (i.e. ground being actively fought over by opposing forces). What is unacceptable is that the Administration has declared that the entire world, including United States soil, to be conceptually a "battlefield" in the "war on terror" even in the absence of an actual battle. Coupled with the extremely nebulous definition of "terrorist", this allows for the use of military power anywhere against anyone the Administration tags as a "terrorist". Drones make this very, very easy.

* Many sources have confirmed that the use of drones against "terrorists" embedded within the populations of targeted regions has hardened those populations against the United States. The psychological effects of silent, omnipresent, all-seeing drones hovering over villages and randomly striking members of the community cannot be disregarded. I would grow to hate any country that did that to my community, regardless of how many bad guys were taken out. The way we use our drones is without question swelling the ranks of al Qaeda and associated groups.

* I don't trust the CIA and the Pentagon when they tell us that drones are being used conscientiously, nor do I believe their claims about those killed by drone strikes, because a mountain of evidence has shown that these organizations routinely lie to the public.