421 Drone Strikes

One of the United States’ preferred methods of military intervention in the Middle East, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is the use of airstrikes to assassinate members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. This is controversial, not only because it is condemned by the UN as violating international law, but because it has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of unarmed civilians, including American citizens. The continuation of aerial attacks without a declaration of war, the lack of consent of the countries in which these military operations take place, and insufficient planning is a practice which jeopardizes any ties we have with these countries. Thus, the United States needs to cease drone strikes and manned aerial strikes until the United States has the consent of the Afghani and

These offensives aim to kill al-Qaeda and Taliban affiliates. The United States defends this practice by pointing at the Pakistani government's lack of control in the area, and how this inability to manage territory puts the United States at risk. The American process to assess targets involves the filing of legal briefs before an attack is approved, and briefs backed up with little intelligence are rejected. Despite this process, at least 423 civilians have been killed by these strikes. In response, the Peshawar High Court has ruled that CIA drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal. The Pew Research Center also found that 97% of polled Pakistani citizens viewed the use of drone strikes as bad policy. To boot, drone strikes have also influenced survivors to pursue terrorist activities. In the Federal Tribal Areas, particularly in Waziristan, a vigilante group known as Khorasan Mujahedin kidnaps, tortures, and even kills those suspected of being CIA informants. Pakistani drone strikes were the motive for the attempted car bombing of Times Square in