Who’s Next To Borrow from America’s Drone Strike “Playbook”?

Alyssa Sims was quoted in PBS Frontline about drones:

The growing number of nations and groups acquiring armed drones lends new urgency to the question: Who decides what justifies the legal use of a technology that’s been blamed for hundreds of civilian deaths? Until now, the U.S. has established its own case for what is and is not considered a legal drone strike. But as the weapons proliferate, it’s unclear what if anything would prevent other nations, or even future U.S. administrations, from developing their own — perhaps more liberal — interpretation.

“The accessibility of drone technology is obviously increasing at a swift pace,” says Alyssa Sims, a research assistant at the New America Foundation’s International Security Program. “And the countries that haven’t used armed drones, it’s only a matter of time before they do.”

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“I believe that states will decide that there’s a lower threshold for violence with drone warfare,” says Sims, the New America Foundation researcher. “And we’ll see more nations and militant groups carrying out unilateral foreign policy objectives around the world. There’s no need to build any kind of coalition with the international community if you can strike with impunity in any nation that you feel.”