Letter
Letter to Administration/Congress on Drones & Targeted Killings
Letter to from Bishop Richard E. Pates, Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace to the Administration and the U.S. Congress on Drones and Targeted Killings, May 17, 2013
The Administration's use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to kill Al Qaeda and other terrorists around the world has provoked widespread public discussion. The use of these weapons in counter-terrorism raises serious moral questions.
In the wake of 9/11, the U.S. bishops argued: “While military action may be necessary, it is by no means sufficient to deal with this terrorist threat. From bolstering homeland security and ensuring greater transparency of the financial system to strengthening global cooperation against terrorism, a wide range of non-military measures must be pursued.” An effective counter terrorism policy should employ nonmilitary assets to build peace through respect for human rights and addressing underlying injustices that terrorists unscrupulously exploit.
There is a right to use force in self-defense, but not every attack justifies war as a response and not every use of force in self-defense is war. Counter-terrorism, even against an organization as uniquely dangerous as Al Qaeda, is not war when it takes place outside war zones. Counter-terrorism is primarily a law enforcement activity which at times may require the use of military assets and force. To name it a war may overemphasize the utility of military force and underappreciate other critical strategies to address terrorism. In addition, terrorists have little in common with those in the military who honorably serve the cause of peace. Instead, they are criminals. Naming the struggle with terrorism a “war” would seem to enhance the status of terrorists who are non-state actors, operating entirely outside the framework of just war.
Even when viewed through the prism of just war principles, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for targeted killings raises serious moral questions. The Administration seems to have focused narrowly on the just cause of protecting citizens, but other elements of the tradition pose significant questions, including discrimination, imminence of the threat, proportionality and probability of success.