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Applying Jus In Bello Proportionality To Drone Warfare, David J. Akerson

David J. Akerson

This article applies the international humanitarian law (IHL) principle of proportionality to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones,[1] by the United States military forces (US Military) and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its armed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the “war on terror” in places such as Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Mali.[2] Iraq and Afghanistan at some point were more conventional armed conflicts that yielded to occupations with a continuing conflict against irregular insurgents. Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Mali fall into the so-called “targeted killings” genre, defined as …