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

[Maedhros]

200. Yeah, I didn't think that through too well.

Last edited Tue Oct 29, 2013, 10:37 PM - Edit history (1)

What I meant to get at is this:

The justification used for our extrajudicial killing of "terrorist" suspects is that it's impossible to use traditional law enforcement methods "on a battlefield." This is true, in the context of a traditional battlefield with two armed opponents fighting over contested ground, i.e. a conventional, actual war.

However such is not the case for the overwhelming majority of our drone strikes outside of Afghanistan. We are firing missiles at presumed "terrorists" in marketplaces, weddings, funerals and farmhouses while the erstwhile targets are going about their daily business. No firefights in sight. These places are "battlefields" only because our overly-permissive rules-of-engagement consider the "battlefield" to be the entire world at any time. Drones strikes are convenient more than they are necessary, and they kill as many or more civilians than they do "terrorists."

If we want to pretend that our drone strike victims are on a "battlefield" in a "war zone" then we should be required to acknowledge our involvement in an actual war and abide by the Geneva Conventions.