Drones and the Ethics of Targeted Killing

214 Pages·2015·1.161 MB·English

by  Kenneth R. Himes OFM

DRONES AND THE ETHICS OF
TARGETED KILLING

DRONES AND THE ETHICS OF
TARGETED KILLING
Kenneth R. Himes, OFM
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Himes,KennethR.,1950–
Dronesandtheethicsoftargetedkilling/KennethR.Himes,OFM.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4422-3155-9(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-4422-3156-6(pbk.:alk.paper)—
ISBN978-1-4422-3157-3(electronic)1.Droneaircraft—Moralandethicalaspects.2.Droneair-
craft—Governmentpolicy—UnitedStates.3.Targetedkilling—Moralandethicalaspects.4.Tar-
getedkilling—Governmentpolicy—UnitedStates.I.Title.
UG1242.D7H562016
172'.42—dc23
2015018994
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsof
AmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperfor
PrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
For my students
at the Washington Theological Union 1980–2003
and at Boston College 2004 to the present
It has been a pleasure (at least for me).

CONTENTS
ListofAcronyms ix
Preface xi
1 UnderstandingTargetedKillingandDrones 1
TheLanguageofKilling 2
TargetedKillingToday 6
Drones:TheirNatureandUse 11
RemoteKilling 13
Legal,Policy,andMoralConcerns 15
2 TheDistantContextsoftheDebate 21
TargetedKillingintheClassicalWorld 21
TargetedKillingandAncientIsrael 25
TyrannicideintheChristianTradition 31
Assassination 46
3 TheProximateContext:IsraelandtheIntifada 51
IsraeliPublicDebate 55
TheHighCourtofJustice 77
TakeawaysfromtheIsraeliExperience 81
4 TheImmediateContext:TheU.S.WaronTerrorism 85
TheObamaAdministration’sPolicy 86
APublicKilling 89
APublicHearing 93
vii
viii CONTENTS
SpeakinginPublic 95
ThePresident’sSpeech 105
HowDoesanIndividualBecomeaTarget? 112
HowIsaTargetedKillingImplemented? 116
SummingUp 118
5 TheFutureContext:AddressingtheMoralIssues 121
Discrimination 122
Imminence 129
DeathandHarmtoCivilians 135
LastResort 142
StrategicSuccess 145
PerpetualWar 151
BadPrecedents 152
DronesandDemocracy 159
FinalThoughts 165
Notes 169
Index 195