Understanding The Drone Campaign in FATA, Pakistan : An investigation of Pre-emptive and Preventive warfare

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the difference between Pre-emptive and the Preventive use of force in a low-intensity conflict to which the drone campaign is a critical part of. Northern Pakistan has borne the brunt of the U.S. led drone campaign, and the Obama administration has exponentially increased the number of strikes that continues to target armed non-state entities in the tribal areas. The study employed the Just War theory and the New War thesis in order to explore the differences between the two doctrines. To fully understand the uses of force, the study does also examine the drone campaigns driving factors. The research revealed that the U.S. has reinterpreted a variety of International treaties on the use of self-defence. The official U.S. government memorandum, the ‘White-Paper’, views Pakistan as either ‘unable or unwilling’ to suppress the threats that emanate from the tribal areas. Moreover, the drones that target Tehrik-I-Taliban Pakistan conform to the Pre-emptive use of force and are based on ‘incontrovertible’ evidence such as the history of attacks and operational leadership. The reinterpretation of the magnitude and the gravity of the threat have rendered the threats of an armed non-state entity to remain instant and overwhelming.