No. 137: Descending Drones?

Author(s): Martin Zapfe, Prem Mahadevan
Editor(s): Daniel Trachsler
Series: CSS Analyses in Security Policy
Issue: 137
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2013

Targeted assassinations of terrorism suspects overseas have become a routine matter under US President Barack Obama. Usually, these are carried out using armed drones. However, the usefulness and frequency of such missions is bound to decline: First of all, domestic oversight is increasing, reducing the US governments freedom of action; secondly, there are growing concerns that the negative international perception of these missions serves as a terrorist recruitment tool. Finally, the terrorist threat is increasingly shifting towards home-grown attacks that cannot be prevented through the use of drones.

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