If you would like to receive our weekly roundup directly to your inbox, let us know at barddrones [at] gmail. News Trending Now The United States Attorney General, Eric H. Holder, admitted this week in a letter to Congress that American drones had deliberately targeted Anwar al-Awlaki, and accidentally killed …
News Trending Now President Obama plans to address the use of drones and the Guantanamo detention facility in a major defense speech this week. (The Guardian) The United States Senate debated the terms of the Authorized Use of Military Force, raising questions about President Obama’s mandate to wage war. (New …
News Trending Now Despite weeks of violence, voters in Pakistan were undeterred and turned out in high numbers to an election that could determine the future of drone strikes in that country. (New York Times) The Canadian Mounted Police are putting drones to use in rescuing a man this week, claiming the first time an …
News Trending Now A former Bush administration lawyer says that the United States is using drone strikes instead of sending suspected terrorists to Guantanamo. (US News) The Guardian reports that Great Britain has five hundred drones and is interested in expanding the airspace in which they can fly them. Similar …
News Trending Now The United States Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week titled ‘Drone Wars: the Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing.’ Watch video here. (Senate.gov) In testifying before the Judiciary Committee, Farea al-Muslimi, a 23-year old Yemeni national, argued that drone strikes are creating support for …
News Trending Now “It sure would be nice to have a drone up there.” Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted about the usefulness of a drone in the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers. Popular Science Magazine discusses five ways drones could have helped during the Marathon bombing. On a related note, …
News Trending Now The New York Times on how targeted killing has come to define the war on terror. “‘Does he turn [Anwar al-Awlaki] over to the Americans and risk a backlash? Does he hold him? It was easier for Saleh to let the Americans take a shot at Awlaki …
News Trending Now “‘We are not darkening the skies yet,” says executive at SoCal civilian drones conference, “but we are poised.’” An article at Mother Jones reports on the future of domestic drones. The Huffington Post interviews Afghan families who have fled their homes for fear of drones. India is …
News Trending Now The journalist and author Daniel Klaidman made headlines this week by reporting that the Obama administration is considering shifting drone targeted killing operations from the CIA to the military. Mark Manzetti at the New York Times reports on the administration’s efforts. Mayor Bloomberg has said that military …
March 17th News Trending Now The Department of Defense has stopped reporting the number of drone strikes due to the “‘disproportionate focus’” on lethal operations carried out by unmanned aircraft (3% of all sorties). According to the LA Times, the CIA has started collecting intelligence on Syrian extremist militants …
Foreign: Three important articles coming from the Grey Lady this week. 100 US troops have been sent to Niger to establish a Predator drone base in Niamey, the capital. It turns out that fighting from a Nevada air base incurs mental health problems among drone pilots at the same rate …
A new medal for drone pilots is causing uproar among veterans organizations. They argue that the pilots, operating from the safety of an American Air Force base, should not be awarded a medal category that outranks the Purple Heart. The military is considering scaling back purchases of drones due to …
