Drones

(By Pratap Chatterjee via Tomdispatch) Enemies, innocent victims, and soldiers have always made up the three faces of war. With war growing more distant, with drones capable of performing on the battlefield while their “pilots” remain thousands of miles away, two of those faces have, however, faded into the background in recent years. Today, we […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

A War of another Kind: Joint US-Yemeni Strikes on al-Qaeda kill 68

Juan Cole

(via AFP) Dozens killed as Yemen, US mount air war on Qaeda (via AFP) An “unprecedented” US and Yemeni aerial campaign in Yemen killed at least 68 Al-Qaeda militants in a bid to head off attacks by the network’s local affiliate, officials said Monday. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been linked to a […]

Drones

#Notabugsplat: Artists erect a giant portrait of drone victim for pilots (+ Vice Video)

Juan Cole

(By Eric Stoner) A portrait of a drone victim in Pakistan as seen from a drone. (notabugsplat.com) In a brilliant creative action, an art collective with the help of enthusiastic locals unfurled an enormous poster in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of a young girl who lost her parents and two younger siblings to a drone […]

Drones

Drones Gone Wild: on the unreliability of killer robots

Juan Cole

(By Alice Ross and Jack Serle) UK Parliamentarians have called for greater transparency in the UK use of drones, citing the Bureau’s research. The call came in a long-awaited report published by the Defence Select Committee, reports Alice Ross in the latest episode of the Bureau’s podcast. The Select Committee report said there was ‘a […]

Drones

I am Yemeni and I refuse to be a target of drones

contributors

(By Christine Petré) A street art project aims to show the world there is more to Yemeni people than terrorism. Black and white portraits of everyday Yemenis are now decorating the walls of the capital Sana’a, as well as the cities of Taiz, Hodaida, Hadramawt and Aden. Inside Out Yemen is a project that aims […]

Drones

The Rise of the Drones (Infographic)

Juan Cole

Source: SecurityDegreeHub.com RT America: “New drone steals smartphone contents”

Drones

Obama’s Rules: US Drones in Yemen – ‘Psychological Torture’ from Above

contributors

(By Sarah Lazare) As the United States steps up covert drone strikes on Yemen, with three suspected U.S. drone attacks killing at least four people in Yemen early this week, campaigners on the ground say the accumulated years spent living under constant threat of death from above are sowing tragedy, "psychological torture," and resistance across the country. […]

Afghanistan

US Drone Kills 5 Allied Afghan Troops, mistaking them for Taliban

Juan Cole

A NATO air strike in eastern Afghanistan accidentally killed five Afghan soldiers on Thursday, officials said, the latest incident likely to worsen already fraught relations between Kabul and the US-led coalition. NATO offered its condolences over the…

al-Qaeda

Obama and the Golden Calf of National Security: Broken Commandments

Juan Cole

(Karen J. Greenberg) In January 2009, Barack Obama entered the Oval Office projecting idealism and proud to be the constitutional law professor devoted to turning democratic principles into action. In his first weeks in office, in a series of executive orders and public statements, the new president broadcast for all to hear the five commandments […]