The war you don't even know we're waging

It makes nothing more than the faintest buzzing noise as it circles as high as 50,000 feet above your head.

Most witnesses describe it as almost imperceptible. Yet this faint, bumblebee-style buzzing strikes fear into the hearts of most Pakistanis.

During his eight years as president, George W. Bush ordered just more than 40 strikes using stealth drones. One reporter’s tally from earlier this year puts President Barack Obama’s orders for these strikes at 265.

To be fair, due to technological improvements and increases in availability of this technology, it can’t necessarily be said that drone technology is being used in a less responsible fashion. But it is certainly fair to say that one way or another they are being used more.

Yet during the most recent presidential debate, neither candidate addressed the issue. In fact, they both agreed that drone capabilities were an important part of the American military of the future.

While we don’t necessarily disagree, we think the issue warrants more discussion in the public sphere.

These strikes come paired with many concerns about their use.

According to the authorities in many countries, they cause significant civilian casualties. Since the Pakistani government voted in April to ban all drone strikes, they have represented a blatant violation of Pakistani sovereignty. These technologies have been used to kill American citizens abroad without due process.

The current administration’s policy of keeping the program classified means that the American people are deprived of their ability to remain informed about the issue, which further deprives them of their ability to weigh in on it.

In a continuing trend extending as far back as former president Ronald Reagan’s invasion of Grenada, the power of the executive branch to wage war first and answer questions later has been expanded dramatically. Secret arms of executive organizations now have the unilateral power to conduct covert operations without ever once appealing to the demos or seeking Congressional approval.

Presidents were never intended to have this much military power. The branch of the presidency is called the executive for a reason. It is the duty of the commander in chief to execute military policy. That power should, and at one time did, reside with the Congress.

The ability to wage war in the 21st century without putting actual lives at risk is certainly a laudable goal, and drones and other warfare technologies will be invaluable to that effort.

But just as the advent of these technologies has revolutionized the way we wage war, it must also revolutionize the ways we police those who wage it for us.

In response, we call for the Obama administration to declassify the operations conducted by these drones. The American people have a right and responsibility to know who its government is assassinating, where and why, especially when these individuals are American citizens.

We see no reason why this right is vitiated in the case of drone warfare.