CNN Updates: A "Human Operation," Not a Drone
This keeps getting more interesting. A moment ago I raised the question how critics would respond if this proved to be a drone strike. Now someone on CNN says it was a "human operation". Same legal questions, however.
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This keeps getting more interesting. A moment ago I raised the question how critics would respond if this proved to be a drone strike. Now someone on CNN says it was a "human operation". Same legal questions, however. [UPDATE: Perhaps I write too quickly? The thing about a boots-on-the-ground raid on the house is that the use of lethal force in that context very easily can be fit within the human rights law model in which such force can be used in the course of attempting a capture. It seems to me that in light of this, the fact pattern as it is unfolding won't shed much light on the larger drone debates, which no doubt will continue. Note too, by the way, that CNN is reporting that Pakistani agents were involved as well, so this presumably will not present any Article 2(4) questions either. On the contrary, this no doubt will be hailed as strengthening US-Pakistani cooperation in relation to al Qaeda (if not the Afghan Taliban and associated forces)...]
Robert (Bobby) Chesney is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, where he also holds the James A. Baker III Chair in the Rule of Law and World Affairs at UT. He is known internationally for his scholarship relating both to cybersecurity and national security. He is a co-founder of Lawfare, the nation’s leading online source for analysis of national security legal issues, and he co-hosts the popular show The National Security Law Podcast.
