Guiora: the Drone Paradigm
Amos Guiora warns that the current American use of drones creates a deeply troubling paradigm. Guiora is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Global Justice at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. He holds that in the absence of rigorous legal restrictions, the US drone policy risks setting a precedent for other countries with drone capabilities. As spending on drones is projected to double in the next decade, Professor Guiora stresses the imminent need for a legal structure wherein countries can operate drones. As background: the Department of Justice White Paper on the legality of a ‘lethal operation directed against a US citizen who is a senior operational leader of Al Qaeda or an associated force‘.
On October 16th, Professor Guiora defended his Ph.D.-thesis at Leiden University. Bruno Braak interviewed him the next day.
For more information on Professor Guiora please refer to his profile at the University of Utah; his Wikipedia-page; the article ‘Drone Policy: a Proposal Moving Forward‘; and his article ‘Targeted killing’s ‘flexibility’ doctrine that enables US to flout the law of war‘ in The Guardian. His book ‘Legitimate Target: A Criteria-Based Approach to Targeted Killing’ (2013) can be ordered online.
