Rep. Keith Ellison on drone policy in the Post. He writes, "The heart of the problem is that our technological capability has far surpassed our policy." He argues that the executive branch exercises too much authority over drone strikes with not enough Congressional oversight. Like many others, Ellison is calling for a stronger legal framework guiding who we target and when we decide to pursue strikes.
In the U.S. drone strikes are perceived as effective, winning wide public support as the graphic to the right suggests. Two social scientists have also examined the impact of drone strikes and find merit in the program (although the authors caution against an expanded campaign). Can strikes be equally as effective with the type of oversight Ellison recommends: independent judicial review over "kill lists"; collaborate with other countries in developing legal standards for strikes? Nevertheless, an international legal framework for such drone strikes will have to be implemented in the near future for self-interested (if not moral) reasons as other countries begin to acquire drone technology. Given the unpopularity of drone strikes in other parts of the world, the U.S. might incur reputation costs. More importantly, U.S. citizens will not want to to be on the other end of another countries' kill list.
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