Drone attacks may be legal, but are they moral? - Varying Viewpoints

Source: New America Foundation

Drone attacks may be legal, but are they moral?

The silence from human rights groups on America's use of 'targeted attacks' in Afghanistan is deafening, says Alasdair Palmer
By Alasdair Palmer, Telegraph, October 9, 2010

Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen from Birmingham, was killed last week in Pakistan by a missile launched from an American drone. If Jabbar was indeed planning a Mumbai-style massacre in a British city, as the intelligence services claim, his death will be a relief. Yet the degree to which it now seems to be acceptable for the US to use drones to kill those it believes to be involved in planning terrorist attacks is alarming.

Since the beginning of September alone, President Obama has authorised at least 25 targeted killings. The total since he came to office is more than 100. These have certainly killed some of the senior operatives of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. They have also killed dozens of people, including a large number of women and children, who were not involved in terrorism.

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Related:
Drone strikes in Pakistan could backfire in long-term - Reuters
US secretly shifts armed drones to fight terrorists in Pakistan - Telegraph
Study: Drone Strikes Have Been Effective in Pakistan - VOA
Drones Over Pakistan -- Menace or Best Viable Option? - Huffington Post
For detailed data on drone attacks in Pakistan, see New America Foundation's The Year of the Drone