Monthly Archives: October 2012

The US Drone Program and the Disposition Matrix

Leave a reply

by Travis Normand

I received an email today from the WashingtonPost.com which contained links to the following resources, articles, and videos. The information concerned the U.S.’s drone program and the “Disposition Matrix.”  It is very interesting stuff and I wanted to share it here with anyone else who may be interested.

Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill lists
By Greg Miller, Published: October 23
WashingtonPost.com

Over the past two years, the Obama administration has been secretly crafting a next-generation plan to capture and kill suspected terrorists, according to current and former U.S. officials.

The “disposition matrix,” revealed here in part one of a three-part Washington Post series on U.S. counterterrorism policies, reflects an effort by top national security officials to create an infrastructure capable of sustaining a seemingly endless war.

Continue reading this article HERE.

See also, The process behind targeted killing

See also, Tracking America’s drone war [Database of Drone Strikes]

The Process Behind Targeted Killing

LOAC Principles in Current Events: War vs Armed Conflict

Leave a reply

by Jessica Poarch
October 4, 2012

Yesterday, mortars from the ongoing conflict in Syria crossed the border and killed 5 civilians in Turkey. In response, the Turkish government “pounded targets inside Syria on Thursday in retaliation…” In spite of the damage caused to the Turkish people, the Prime Minister of Turkey’s staff came out with statements against war with Syria. This is a clear example of the differences between “armed conflict” and “war.” Turkey has not made a formal declaration of war against Syria, therefore no state of “war” exists. However, an armed conflict does exist between the two nations. International Armed Conflict is defined as the “recourse to armed forces [by one or more states] against another state, regardless of the reasons or the intensity of [the] confrontation.” It is clear therefore that an International Armed Conflict exists between Turkey and Syria.