International Politics and Economy

Cora Currier writes at ProPublica : This story has been updated to reflect new developments. Nearly six months ago, President Obama promised more transparency and tighter policies around targeted killings. In a speech, Obama vowed that the U.S. would only use force against a “continuing and imminent threat to the American people.” It would fire […]

Islam

Ms. Marvel and the Rise of the Muslim Superhero in America

Juan Cole

Umberto Eco argued that Superman, from the character’s inception in the 1940s through about 1970, was a politically conservative figure. The stories were about protecting property and combating petty crime, rather banal stuff given the character’s powers. The character was opaque and unchanging (i.e. the stories are plot-driven adventures, not character-driven). Art by Adrian Alphono […]

Drones

CIA Drone Kills Pakistan Taliban Leader on Eve of Peace talks with Islamabad

Juan Cole

The CIA drone strike in North Waziristan yesterday killed 25 persons and targeted a high-level meeting of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan or TTP). It finally killed TTP leader Hakimu’llah Mahsoud of the large and important Mahsoud tribe in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) of northern Pakistan. Mahsoud’s death by drone has been […]

Drones

“Disposition Matrix”: America’s Drone Wars and Civilian Casualties (Moyers)

Juan Cole

Bill Moyers reports on America’s drone wars The blurb: “America’s Drone Wars November 1, 2013 This week, members of Congress heard testimony for the first time from victims of drone attacks, including that of 13-year-old Zubair Rehman, from Pakistan, who spoke of a strike last year that killed his grandmother and wounded him and his […]

Drones

Pakistani family testifies to empty room on Hill about US Drone that killed Granny

Juan Cole

Congressman Alan Grayson held a hearing on the Hill on Tuesday on civilian deaths in US drone strikes. A Pakistani family, the Ur Rahmans, testified on the death by drone of their grandmother while she was tending her garden. Nine-year-old Nabila Ur Rahman was injured in the strike that killed he grandmother. It was a […]

Drones

Rights Groups: Some US Drone Strikes are War Crimes (Oldroyd)

Juan Cole

Rachel Oldroyd writes at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Leading human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have raised serious concerns about the legality of drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. The two organisations have conducted separate investigations into specific strikes to highlight how civilians are being killed. Such killings, they claim, are […]

Drones

As Pakistan says US Drones killed 400 Civilians, UN Report Demands US Data (Ross)

Juan Cole

Alice K. Ross writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: A report by a UN expert urges the US to ‘release its own data on the level of civilian casualties’ caused by drone strikes and attacks the lack of transparency surrounding CIA and US special forces drone operations. Ben Emmerson, a British barrister and UN […]

Drones

US Drone strikes Continue in Pakistan despite PM Nawaz Sharif’s UN Protest (Serle)

Juan Cole

Jack Serle writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism The CIA launched four attacks [on Pakistan in September] – the second most attacks in one month so far this year. At least 16 people were killed in these attacks – none of them reportedly a civilian. This was the ninth consecutive month without a confirmed […]

Drones

In Shadow of Syria Strike: August US Drone Strikes in Yemen highest in 16 Months (Searle)

Juan Cole

Jack Searle writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism One strike in Pakistan ends 34-day stretch without an attack. Yemen sees more strikes in a month than any time since March 2012. Yemen A terror alert centred on Yemen gripped the US in August leading to six confirmed drone strikes. The US closed 21 diplomatic […]