Drone attacks on people who U.S. spooks have decided must die in countries where we are not at war are targeted assassinations, illegal under most interpretations of international law.
We demand the prerogative of empire, the right to kill those we designate as enemies and anyone who happens to be around the targets -- and we wonder why people hate us.The CIA strikes are "a clear violation of international law," said Mary Ellen O'Connell, law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, who added that going after terrorists should be a law enforcement activity.
She said the rest of the world does not recognize American authority to carry out attacks in Yemen and Pakistan, countries where the U.S. is not involved in direct armed conflict.
CIA officers who operate the drones could be arrested and charged with murder in other countries, O'Connell warned, likening it to having the Mexican police or military bomb hotels in Arizona in order to target drug lords who may be hiding there.
H/t Adam Serwer at TAPPED.
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