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A drone attack in southern Yemen has killed 10 al Qaeda suspects, reports the AFP. Greg Miller at the Washington Post reflects on lessons learned as the U.S. moves to build secret drone bases in Yemen and north Africa. Popular Science's Clay Dillow opines on how long it will take for drones to become autonomous. Gopal Ratnam at Bloomberg quotes Brookings' Peter Singer as saying that the use of drones in warfare is a "Supreme Court case waiting to happen." David Ignatius at the Post mulls over how to apply the rules of war (or for that matter, what rules to apply at all) to drones. He concludes by saying:
A world where drones are constantly buzzing overhead — waiting to zap those deemed threats under a cloaked and controversial process — risks being, even more, a world of lawlessness and chaos. Drones have been America’s best weapon against al-Qaeda, but one to use sparingly — against people U.S. intelligence knows are seeking to kill others.In the yuck department, Guantanamo detainees have ended their feces protest, reports Carol Rosenberg at the Miami Herald; her article is cross-posted by Elspeth Reeve at The Atlantic. The Parwan Detention Center in Afghanistan, which, despite a U.S. draw-down of forces, will remain under U.S. control, is set to be expanded to allow for an additional 2,000 beds. Read Jason Ukman's story at the Post here. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has deadlocked 6-to-6 over whether to hearing en banc (view the order here) a case concerning the constitutionality of expanded wiretapping powers passed under the FISA Amendments Act. Eric Lichtblau at the New York Times writes on the story, as does Ellen Nakashima of the Post. The deadlocked result means that the prior ruling (in favor of allowing the suit to proceed) will stand. Five of the 12 judges wrote separate written opinions. Charlie Savage at the Times reports on the letter sent by Senators Wyden and Udall to Eric Holder requesting that he correct what they call his misleading statements on government authority for surveillance under the PATRIOT Act. Follow us on Twitter for interesting law and security-related articles, and email me noteworthy articles that I may have missed at wakeman.lawfare@gmail.com.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
