Washington: Counter terrorism adviser to United States (US) President Barack Obama, John Brennan said that drone strikes are legal and ethical against al-Qaeda forces, which he described as “legitimate military targets” in armed conflict against the U.S.
Marking the anniversary of the killing of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan, Brennan said that the strikes were used only in cases of a “significant threat.”
“There is nothing in international law that bans the use of remotely piloted aircraft for this purpose or that prohibits us from using lethal force against our enemies outside of an active battlefield,” Brennan said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington.
In the aftermath of bin Laden’s death a year ago this week, Brennan said al-Qaeda has been weakened, describing the core leadership as “a shadow of its former self.” Bin Laden organized the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington in which almost 3,000 people were killed.
“Morale is low, with intelligence indicating that some members are giving up and returning home, no doubt aware that this is a fight they will never win,” Brennan said. “In short, al-Qaeda is losing, badly. And bin Laden knew it.”
The adviser further said that US would also issue some documents found from Bin Laden’s hide out in Abbotabad in the upcoming week.
“In documents we seized, he confessed to ‘disaster after disaster,'” said John Brennan, announcing the material would be published online by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center.
“For example, bin Laden worried about — and I quote — ‘the rise of lower leaders who are not as experienced and this would lead to the repeat of mistakes,'” Brennan said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
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