A U.S. CIA-operated drone crashed in the Peshawar region of Pakistan. Pakistani officials already protesting the strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty, making one wonder why the U.S. operates these drones in this region. Then again, various analysts believe that the U.S. has a secret deal with the government allowing them to do so.
This raises two questions of international law: (1) Can a secret deal be legitimate, and how would it stand in an international court? (2) Can U.S. drone attacks be carried out on militants beyond the borders of the theater of a legitimate war (assuming the Iraq and Afghan wars are considered legitimate)?
Thus far, these drone attacks have not been tested in an international court. Hopefully when they do, some good lawyering will lend support to the CIA and its use of drones.
Read more at the WSJ.
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