CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ THE MILITARY USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN THE FIGHT… 2) Signature strikes are military attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles in which people are targeted because their activities are believed to fit a particular behavioural profile, though their individual identities are unknown. “Within a designated area, such as Waziristan in north-western Pakistan and Abyan Province in southern Yemen, all “military-aged” males are designated as “combatants,” and any suspicious behavior in these areas – such as large meetings or vehicle convoys – will be targeted for drone strikes without knowing who is specifically involved or the actual purpose of the observed action. Often times, signature strikes use a “double-tap” technique, in which one strike is quickly followed by a second, targeting anyone that comes to the aid of those caught in the first explosion.” 9 In 2016 the information about UAV strikes by the United States were discussed in The New York Times by Scott Shane. 10 Since 2009, 473 strikes had killed between 2372 and 2581 combatants, who were defined as members of groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban, that are considered to be at war with the United States, or others posing a “continuing and eminent threat” to Americans. Also, there is data that between 64 and 116 noncombatants had been killed. “Officials said those numbers included both clearly innocent civilians and others for whom there was insufficient evidence to be sure they were combatants”. 11 Statistical data raised a lot of questions and disputes. The Los Angeles Daily News published an article titled “Statistics on civilian deaths from drone strikes raise hard questions” in which they asked “While Americans debating how to fight terrorism may disagree on how many dead foreign civilians is too many, we shouldn’t ignore the question of drone-strikes’ big-picture effectiveness. Do they debilitate the enemy and discourage would-be terrorists? Or does anger at the killing of civilians drive more young men and women toward terrorist recruiters? Isn’t the killing of civilians what we’re fighting against?” 12 Questions of this nature are responsive to scepticism of those scholars, who point to the negative impact that UAVs have on counterterrorism efforts over time. In the short run, UAVs may work to hinder the activities and capabilities of terrorist groups. But in the long run it is less clear whether UAVs have any measurable impact in stopping terrorist activity. When dealing with highly decentralized terrorist organizations, such as the various Pakistani Taliban groups, unmanned aerial vehicles attacks targeting leaders of terrorist groups and members have done little to reduce terrorist efforts, as anger over such strikes boosts subsequent terrorist recruitment efforts. Following many drone attacks, especially those that take innocent lives, terrorist groups encourage for revenge for U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles strikes as their primary motivation for renewed terror attacks. The practice of the U.S. will be analysed further in the context of its compliance with the principles of IHL as a case study.

9 Ibid . 10 SHANE, S. Drone Strike Statistics Answers FewQuestions and Raises Many, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/ world/middleeast/drone-strike-statistics-answer-few-questions-and-raise-many.html [accessed 22 May 2018]. 11 Ibid . 12 Statistics on civilian deaths from drone strikes raise hard questions, 28 August 2017 https://www.dailynews. com/2016/07/12/statistics-on-civilian-deaths-from-drone-strikes-raise-hard-questions/ [accessed 22 May 2018].

217