How does the US justify ethically and legally its drone attacks in the Greater Middle East ( especially in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan)?
For instance killing their own citizens in some of the attacks. Source
Or killing other people who are there unfortunately at the wrong time in the wrong place. Yemenis seek justice in wedding drone strike
But also in general. Do they have a UN mandate for this kind of warfare?
Update:
US drone strikes – the facts on the ground :
- "A new analysis of the data available to the public about drone strikes, conducted by the human-rights group Reprieve, indicates that even when operators target specific individuals[...] they kill vastly more people than their targets, often needing to strike multiple times. Attempts to kill 41 men resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,147 people, as of 24 November."
- " Some 24 men specifically targeted in Pakistan resulted in the death of 874 people"
- "An analytically conservative Council on Foreign Relations tally assesses that 500 drone strikes outside of Iraq and Afghanistan have killed 3,674 people."
- "There is a debate regarding the number of civilian and militant casualties. An estimated 286 to 890 civilians have been killed, including 168 to 197 children. Amnesty International found that a number of victims were unarmed and that some strikes could amount to war crimes"
- "Some US politicians and academics have condemned the drone strikes. US Congressman Dennis Kucinich asserted that the United States was violating international law by carrying out strikes against a country that never attacked the United States. Georgetown University professor Gary D. Solis asserts that since the drone operators at the CIA are civilians directly engaged in armed conflict, this makes them "unlawful combatants" and possibly subject to prosecution."
Terrorism in Yemen -> read the topic " US air attacks"