Assembling a predator drone out of the box in about two hours, 2012. Wikicommons/ Sgt.Ken Scar. Public domain.It is nearly fifteen years since the United States, followed by a few of its closest allies such as the United Kingdom and Israel, used unmanned flying vehicles, better known as drones, for targeted killings.
As is often the case with new weapons and new technologies, the implications of these actions have passed unnoticed. In a disturbing silence, occasionally broken by brave investigative journalists and scholars, they are becoming de facto a standard practice of modern warfare. But a few moments of reflection suffice to realise that targeted killings through drones are egregious war crimes. They violate basic human rights and the laws of war that were established several centuries ago.
A fresh, well-researched and well-written book by Laurie Calhoun (We Kill Because We Can. From Soldiering to Assassination in the Drone Age, Zed Books, London, 2015, ISBN 978-1-78360-548-4) provides an occasion to think about the deep implications of killing people though drones and hopefully to act to stop this high-tech barbarian practice.
