ABSTRACT
This chapter shares in the postulation that since the “precision and discrimination of drones are only as good as the supporting intelligence”, both human and signal intelligence, it is trite knowledge that wherever not supported by effective and accurate intelligence, drone strikes miss their fabled precision and kill indiscriminately. Thus, to the extent of this intelligence failure and the resultant loss of precision, armed drones’ deployment and use do not allow for the possibility of sparing civilians that come into harm’s way, especially in “signature strikes”. This is not to talk of the impossibility of taking terrorists as “Prisoners of War” (POWs). It is in this context that the deployment and use of armed drones are inherently antagonistic to international humanitarian law. In other words, the use of armed drones in targeted killings does not allow terrorists to be captured, more so when the terrorists themselves do not engage in pitched combats or even allow themselves to be captured. More often than not, the terrorists blow themselves up in a determined act of suicidal jihad. This problem exists because the war on terror is partly law enforcement and military operations, making the observation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) an uphill task.
