Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Mail Tribune 100, Jan. 12, 1916 ... Oregon LNG withdraws Army Corps lawsuit ... Bundy says armed group going through government files ... Mail Tribune 100, Jan. 12, 1916 ... Oregon LNG withdraws Army Corps lawsuit ... Bundy says armed group going through government files ... Arthur I. Cyr: Debating drone strikes is justified … avoiding realities of war is not Comment By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now MailTribune.com By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 10:06 AM By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 10:06 AM » Social News Up close and personal: that describes targeting individuals in wartime, even when impersonal drone aircraft and electronics are employed. On April 23, President Barack Obama announced – and took responsibility for — a U.S. drone strike which killed two innocent hostages, including an American. Giovanni Lo Porto of Italy and U.S. citizen Warren Weinstein were inadvertently killed in an attack on an al Qaeda camp in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. The White House was right to announce the mistake, and to apologize. Drone killings involve two important concerns. First, U.S. news media have a propensity to highlight the killing of Americans, whether intentional or not. Second, the use of drones as weapons per se generates ongoing controversy. In March 2013, the United States Senate voted 63-34 to confirm John Brennan to head the CIA. This followed intensive Intelligence Committee debate regarding drone strikes, and a filibuster by. Senator Rand Paul about this weapon. In 2011, the killing in Yemen of al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, his young son Abdulrahman and associate Samir Khan by U.S. drones sparked controversy. They were American citizens, and critics argue such killings deny orderly due process. On these grounds, critics are wrong. Our common law tradition assumes all people have basic human rights. American citizens here do not have special rights. That principle led to defeats of the Bush administration by a largely conservative U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down the fallacious argument that accused terrorists held at Guantanamo had no rights because they were neither civilians nor uniformed military. The Court decreed some form of orderly due process is essential, and the Bush White House complied, albeit grudgingly. Beyond this point, war is uncivilized and unfit for customary civilian due process, though our country has been a leader in developing rules limiting armed conflict. Particularly notable is President Abraham Lincoln’s efforts during the Civil War, in collaboration with Professor Francis Lieber of Columbia Law School in New York. Targeting individuals in war can be defensible. Early in World War II, a special U.S. intelligence force was given the mission of locating and killing Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, brilliant architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. In early 1943, he was confirmed flying near New Guinea, a special squadron of fighter planes was dispatched and his aircraft shot down. During the initial part of the war, the British began a sophisticated intelligence program to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Later, the effort was abandoned, not for reasons of morality but because Hitler’s serious mental deterioration led planners to conclude he was more useful to the Allied effort alive than dead. The Vietnam War included the Phoenix program, focused on neutralizing individuals on the other side through various means, including — but by no means focused on — killing. Publicity about this program fueled anti-war sentiment. After that controversial war, careful realistic analysis confirmed CIA estimates that many thousands of Viet Cong had been neutralized. Senior Viet Cong leader Madame Nguyen Thi Dinh told historian Stanley Karnow the program was extremely effective and “very dangerous.” Americans prefer technological means, yet drones reinforce radical Islamic arguments that invaders from the West are truly alien. When possible, terrorists should be captured rather than killed. That both eases moral ambiguities and provides important opportunity for interrogation. Additionally, drones cannot duplicate the flexible, subtle information gathering skills of talented human operatives. We should keep debating this high-tech form of killing. Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of “After the Cold War.” Contact him at [email protected] By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now MailTribune.com By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 10:06 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501