How the Drone Warfare Industry Took Over Our Congress. November 30, 2011 | Like this article?
Join our email list: House Members Call on Obama to Legally Justify ‘Signature’ Drone Strikes. Twenty-six members of Congress have called on President Barack Obama to provide a legal justification for so-called “signature” drone strikes that the CIA and special operations forces have been launching in Pakistan and Yemen.
Signature strikes are drone bombings that target individuals that the administration cannot identify. Decisions to kill a person or group of people in these countries can be based on “suspicious behavior,” a loosely-defined judgement that would give the administration carte blanche to kill whoever it pleases. The request to provide legal justification is warranted, but is unlikely to be heeded by the administration. The technically covert nature of the drone program – even though everyone knows about it – has so far allowed them to dismiss court challenges for the legality of these strikes.
A recent New York Times article quoted administration officials describing how low the standards are for choosing targets. The Drone Makers And Their Friends In Washington. Audio Aired 7/5/12 Drone makers are the rising stars in the defense industry.
Some of the most successful companies making these controversial unmanned vehicles are located in Southern California and elsewhere around the west. And they have big supporters in Washington.