With the number of drone failures rising domestically and the likelihood of an exponential rise in drone strikes in Iraq imminent; the US federal court has decided now is the time to release the redacted memo justifying the use of unmanned drone strikes on US citizens. ...also recognized that "the realities of combat" render certain uses of force "necessary and appropriate," including against U.S. citizens who have become part of enemy forces-and that "due process analysis need not blink at those realities."
As WaPo reports, [3]
Accident investigation documents show that 47 military drones crashed in the United States between 2001 and 2013 in what the military categorized as Class A accidents — the most severe category.
[4]
The Pentagon is planning to expand drone operations to at least 110 bases in 39 states by 2017.
The number of accidents has jumped as the military has brought back drones from overseas and operated them more frequently in airspace shared with civilian planes. The military has almost tripled the number of hours its drones have flown annually in shared U.S. airspace since 2011, according to federal data.
The US federal court releases the excuses for droning Us citizens...
Although in the "circumstances of war," as the Hamdi plurality observed, "the risk of erroneous deprivation of a citizen's liberty in the absence of sufficient process ... is very real,"
...also recognized that "the realities of combat" render certain uses of force "necessary and appropriate," including against U.S. citizens who have become part of enemy forces-and that "due process analysis need not blink at those realities."
Full modestly redacted 'excuse for drone use' memo below:
Drone Memo [5]
