Stasis Grid

Author Info

Source Type

Categorical

Definitional

Causal

Evaluation

Action

Jurisdiction

Up to three names,
write them all; 4+,
write first name et
al. (i.e., Smith et
al.)

(popular, scholarly,
trade, government)

Does X exist?

Is X a Y?

Does X cause Y?
Is Y a result of X?

Is it good or bad?
Fair or unfair?
Harmful or
beneficial?

What should be
done about X?

Who is responsible?

1. MICHAEL V.

NY Times

Drones are not

perfect, they
are killing
innocent
people.

Drones are
causing the
deaths of
civilians.

Its not good but

drones do a great
job at stopping
some terrorists.

NY Times

Do drones
cause terror in
civilian
populations?

HAYDEN

2 PRATAP
CHATTERJEE

3. Musa al-Gharb

Al Jazeera

Is drone
warfare a
civilian killing
project?

Drones are best

used as a
compliment
not a substitute
for boots on
the ground.

Drone warfare
causes high
stress among
pilots.

Unrelenting
U.S. strikes due
in large part
to popular
outrage at
collateral
damage of the
strikes and
the erosion of
governance in
the areas
most affected.

drone program is
ill-suited to
achieve its
purported
goal, but that it is
actually
counterproductiv
e in many
respects.

Stasis Grid
4. Karen J.

Greenberg

5. Doyle
McManus

Washington
Post

La times

n both, the
stick
monkeys have
trouble
distinguishing
women and
children from
the high-value
targets they are
seeking.

These policies,
Cockburn says,
have not
reduced
hostilities but
have led to a
seemingly
unstoppable
strengthening
of radical
insurgencies
worldwide, a
premise that the
French
philosopher
Grgoire
Chamayou
shares in A
Theory of the
Drone.
Just because
drone wars
have succeeded
in killing
terrorists
doesn't mean
they're
working.

the increasing
use of lethal
drones may
create a
slippery slope
leading to
continual or
wider wars,

he policy of
killing by drone
not only ignored
lessons from the
past, it also
deceptively failed
to own up to
current mistakes.

The Stimson
Center report
gives the
administration
a smart list of
policy
proposals: a
systematic
review of
drones' costs
and benefits; a
commission
on targeting,
to show that
we're very
careful about

Stasis Grid
whom we kill;
and an effort
to establish
international
norms, so
when Russia
and Iran get
drones some
basic rules are
in place.
Author Info

Source Type

Categorical

Definitional

Causal

Evaluation

Action

Jurisdiction

Up to three names,
write them all; 4+,
write first name et
al. (i.e., Smith et
al.)
6. Arjun Sethi

(popular, scholarly,
trade, government)

Does X exist?

Is X a Y?

Does X cause Y?
Is Y a result of X?

Is it good or bad?
Fair or unfair?
Harmful or
beneficial?

What should be
done about X?

Who is responsible?

In light of
these
revelations,
some will call
for greater
congressional
oversight.
Others will
lament the
lack of
judicial
oversight.
Some may
even advocate
for a special
commission to
study the use
of lethal force
under the
Obama

In May 2013,
President
Barack
Obama defende
d U.S. drone
strikes and
claimed
responsibility
for overseeing
the program.

Al Jazeera

the military
sees drone
strikes as a
very slick,
efficient
way to
conduct the
war, without
having to
have the
massive
ground
invasion

Stasis Grid
mistakes of
Iraq and
Afghanistan
.

7.Peter Bergen
and Katherine
Tiedemann

Foreign affairs

Even
determining
who is a
militants and
who is a
civilian is often
impossible
given the
environment of
the tribal
areas

8.Mary Ellen
OConnell

Scholarly

Together, these
books support
the conclusions
that U.S. drone
attacks
generally
violate
international
law, worsen the
problem of
terrorism, and
transgress
fundamental
moral
principles

Therighttokill
inwarisbased
fundamentally
onthepremise
thatitis
availabletoboth
sides.Butdrones
removethe
reciprocityof
battlefield
killing.Without
reciprocity,
killingbecomes
execution.The
onethatisable
tokillconfuses
thischoicewith

administration
.

Although a
number of
factors could
have
contributed to
these increasesmilitants
retaliation for
Pakistan
military
operations

Here , the
evidence is
equivocal.
Although the
drone strikes
have killed 1000
militants,
including 33
insurgent leaders,
violence in
Pakistan has gone
up

Although a
number of
factors could
have
contributed to
these increasesmilitants
retaliation for
Pakistan
military
operations

Possessingthe
meanstokill
withlittleriskto
theonekilling
creates
psychological
pressuretouse
thosemeans,
alongwithlegal
andpolicy
justificationsfor
doingso.

TheUnitedStates
hasalsousedthe
evenmorelethal
cruisemissile
launchedfrom
navalvesselsand
mannedaircraftin
post9/11targeted
killingoperations.
Yet,under
international
humanrightslaw,
missilescanonly
bejustifiedfor
carryingout
intentionalkilling
ofarmed

Bushsigneda
memorandumof
notificationon
September17,
2001,that,
togetherwith
other
authorizations,
providedhis
permissionfor
theCIAtokill
terroristsuspects,
including
Americans,ona
highvalue
targetlist(p.
49),11whichhas

Stasis Grid
therighttokill.

9. Zahra
Siddique &
David A.
Jaeger

Scholarly

DavidRohde
("TheObama
Doctrine,
March/April
2012")contends
thattheBarack
Obama
administration's
targetedkillings
ofalQaedaand
Talibanmilitants
throughdrone
strikesis
backfiring
becauseitturns
Pakistanipublic
opinionagainst
theUnitedStates
andcauses
potential
diplomatic
difficulties

oppositionfighters
withinarmed
conflictzonesas
definedunder
internationallaw.

wefindthat
terroristattacks
byalQaedaand
theTalibanin
Afghanistanare
essentially
unaffectedby
dronestrikes
On
theotherhand,
wefindthatin
theweeks
followinga
dronestrike,
terroristattacks
bytheTaliban
andalQaeda
increasein
Pakistan.

Ifamoresecure
Pakistanisoneof
theObama
administration's
strategicgoals,it
wouldappearthat
dronestrikesare,
indeed,backfiring.

becomeknown
asthekill
list.12

Stasis Grid
10. David
Rohde

Scholarly

Increaseddrone
strikesinthe
tribalareas
eliminatedsenior
alQaeda
operativesin
2009

s.OnSept.30,a
dronestrike
killedAnwaral
Awlaki,a
charismatic
Americanborn
clericofYemeni
descentcredited
withinspiring
terroristattacks
aroundtheworld

Criticsinsideand
outsidetheU.S.
government
contendedthata
programthatbegan
asacarefully
focusedeffortto
killsenioralQaeda
leadershad
morphedintoa
bombingcampaign
againstlowlevel
Talibanfighters.
Someoutside
analystseven
arguedthatthe
administrationhad
adoptedadefacto
"killnotcapture"
policy,givenits
inabilitytoclose
Bush's
GuantanamoBay
prisonandcreatea
newdetention
system

Fromthe
ground,drones
areterrifying
weaponsthat
canbeheard
circling
overheadfor
hoursatatime.
Theyarea
potent,
unnerving
symbolofun
checked
American
power.Atthe
sametime,they
wereclearly
effective,
killingforeign
bombmakers
andpreventing
Talibanfighters
fromgathering
inlargegroups.
Theexperience
leftme
convincedthat
dronestrikes
shouldbe
carriedout
butvery
selectively

Obama's
embraceof
multilateralism,
dronestrikes,
andalightU.S.
militarypresence
inLibya,
Pakistan,and
Yemen,they
contend,has
provedmore
effectivethan
Bush'sgoheavy
approachinIraq
andAfghanistan.

Stasis Grid
11. Anthony

Whetheritturns
out,assomany
policywonks
say,thatdrone
strikesarepolice
workorasso
many
radicalsare
saying,
undeclaredwar,
eitherwaywe
wouldobserve
thatthese
questionsare
easyfor
anthropologists
tomiss.

Scholarly

Allen Marcus,
Ananthakrishna
n Aiyer and Kirk
Dombrowski

12. Laleh
Khalili

Scholarly

The
counterinsurgent
salmostnever
mention
thehundredsof
civilianskilled
duringdrone
operationsor
commentonthe
"signature
strikes"that
targetwhomever
fits
a"terrorist"
profileviewed
throughthe
lensesof
electronic
intelligence

hisclaimthatthe
strikesmay
actuallyimprove
governanceisthe
basisofthe
assertionby
Ricksandother
policypundits
thatthisisnot
war.Isthistrue,
dodronesaid
moreand
destabilizeless
thanimperial
advisorsin
foreignmilitary
fatigues

Thedronestrikes
beingconductedin
thosethree
countries
[Afghanistan,
Pakistan,and
Yemen]arenot
beingdoneto
challengethose
states,butto
supplementthe
powerofthose
states,toactwhen
theycannotorwill
not

Inamorecasuistic
register,Kohcited
droneuseas
opposedtoboots
onthegroundas
justificationforthe
Obama
administration's
circumventionof
the1973War
PowersResolution
whenitdecidedto
joinotherNATO
powersindeposing
Muammar
Qaddafi'sregimein
Libya.Koh,John
Brennan(Obama's
counterterrorism

Itisprobably
unlikelythatwe
willseeany
predators,
avengers,
reapers,ravens,
orbarracudas
rainingHellfire
(rockets)down
onPhiladelphia
atanytime
soon,butone
neverknows
whatpolice
actionmight
require.Better,
saysCongress,
keepour
optionsopen

And,nowthat
theUScongress
hasprettymuch
giventhegreen
lightfortheuse
ofdronesinUS
civilianairspace
by2015,wefor
purposes(weare
told,of"crowd
surveillance"or
"aidingfire
fighters")wecan
expectourshare
ofproppinghere
aswell.

Interestingly,in
theObama
administration,
themajor
supportersfor
theincreaseduse
ofdronesin
assassination
besidestheCIA
andJSOC,who
keepalower
profileare
government
lawyersor
expertsin
internationallaw,
someof
whomarebetter
knownfor

Stasis Grid
gathering
equipment.

13. PIR ZUBAIR

SHAH and
MICAH ZENKO

Scholarly

Dronesare
becominga
lethalweaponof
choice,but
nobody'sin
charge.Overthe
pastdecade,
therehavebeen
some300drone
strikesoutside
thebattlefieldsof
Iraq,
Afghanistan,and
Libya.Ofthese
attacks,95
percentoccurred
inPakistan,with
therestin
Yemenand
Somalia;

adviser)and
AttorneyGeneral
EricHolderhave
allmaintainedthat
"militaryneces
sity,"aswellas
"precision,"count
infavorofdrones,
whileLeon
Panetta,asheadof
theCIA,arguedin
2009thatthe
drones'targeting
mechanism
prevents"collateral
damage,"making
themthe"only
gameintown."
Inreality,the
country's
worseninganti
Americanismis
drivenmoreby
theportrayalof
thedronesinthe
Pakistanimedia,
whichpaints
themasa
scourgetargeting
innocent
civilians,thanby
thedrones
themselves

havingcriticized
waronterror
detention
policiesorthe
Bush
administration's
violationsof
international
legal
commitments.

Butitwasonly
whenWikiLeaks
releaseditscache
ofU.S.State
Department
cablesbeginning
inlate2010that
Pakistanis
learnedjusthow
complicittheir
governmenthas
beeninthedrone
campaign

Stasis Grid
cumulatively,
theyhavekilled
morethan2,000
suspected
militantsandan
unknown
numberof
civilians.

14. Patrick B.
Johnston and
Anoop K.
Sarbahi

Scholarly

Wefindthat
dronestrikesare
associatedwith
decreasesinthe
incidenceand
lethalityof
terroristattacks,
aswellas
decreasesin
selective
targetingoftribal
elders.

Still,ourfindings
providekey
supportforthe
hypothesisthat
newtechnologies
specifically,
remotemeansof
surveillance,
reconnaissanceand
targetingare
able,atleastin
certainkeyareasof
northwestPakistan,
todisruptand
degrademilitants
inwaysthat
compensateforan
incumbent
governmentslack
ofphysical
presenceinthese
areas,andcan
consequentlylimit
boththefrequency
andthelethalityof
militantattacks

TheUnited
Stateshas
frequentlybeen
calleduponto
ceasedrone
strikesin
Pakistanin
ordertoprotect
noncombatants,
butinsteadit
hasexpanded
itsuseofdrones
toother
countriesin
whichal
Qaida
affiliated
militantsare
believedto
operate,suchas
Somaliaand
Yemen.3

Stasis Grid
15. David A.
Jaeger and
Zahra Siddique

Scholarly

Forexample,ina
terroristattack
onapolice
academyin
LahoreinMarch
2009inwhich
eighteenpeople
werekilled,
Baitullah
Mehsud(then
leaderofthe
TehrikeTaliban
Pakistan)stated
thattheattack
wasin
retaliationforthe
continueddrone
strikesbythe
UnitedStatesin
collaboration
withPakistanon
ourpeople.2

Wefindthat
dronestrikesdo
nothaveany
significant
impacton
terroristviolence
inAfghanistan
butthatdrone
strikesdohavea
significant
impacton
Taliban/Al
Qaedaviolence
inPakistan.

Attacksby
unmannedaerial
vehicles,or
drones,have
beenoneofthe
mainpolicies
usedbythe
UnitedStatesto
carryout
targetedkillings
ofterroristsin
Afghanistanand
Pakistan.

Stasis Grid
Works Cited
Bergen, Peter. "Washington's Phantom War: The Effects of the U.S. Drone Program in Pakistan." Foreign Affairs 90.4 (2011): 12-18. JSTOR. Web.
Chatterjee, Pratap. "Our Drone War Burnout." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 July 2015. Web.
Faizi, Aimal. "Drones Kill Any Chance of Peace in Afghanistan." - Al Jazeera English. N.p., 29 June 2015. Web.
Hayden, Michael V. "To Keep America Safe, Embrace Drone Warfare." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2016. Web.
Jaeger, David A. "CIA Drone Strikes and the Taliban." Talibanistan Negotiating the Borders Between Terror, Politics, and Religion (2011): 229-36.
Dec. 2011. Web.
Johnston, Patrick B., and Anoop K. Sarbahi. "International Law and Drone Strikes in Pakistan." (2015): n. pag. 21 Apr. 2015. Web.
Khalili, Laleh. "Fighting Over Drones." Middle East Report No. 264.PIVOT, REBALANCE, RETRENCH: THE US POSTURE IN THE
MIDDLE EAST (2012): 18-21. JSTOR. Web.
Marcus, Anthony Allen. "Droning On: The Rise of the Machines." Dialectical Anthropology 36.1/2 (2012): 1-5. JSTOR. Web.
O'connell, Mary Ellen. "Game of Drones." The American Journal of International Law 109.4 (2015): 889-900. JSTOR. Web.
Rohde, David. "THE OBAMA DOCTRINE." Foreign Policy No. 192 (2012): 64-69. JSTOR. Web.
Siddique, Zahra. "Strike Out." Foreign Policy No. 193 (2012): 11-12. JSTOR. Web.