Parallel Worlds Of US Intelligence and Afghanistan

One of the main findings of a new report by the Afghanistan Analysts Network is how dependency on signals intelligence, especially the monitoring of phone usage to build up a picture of insurgent networks, can lead to civilian deaths and the possibility of grave violations of the laws of war - in particular when this is acted on in the virtual absence of human intelligence.

The research has uncovered serious discrepancies that raise systemic concerns over the intelligence that drives targeted killings. It has also uncovered two serious legal concerns that would benefit from clarification from US military lawyers: whether a person’s proximity to a target identified for killing on the JPEL is sufficient to change his status from default civilian to assumed combatant; and whether the bar for a targeted person to become hors de combat – and therefore protected from attack – has been quietly raised.

The full report can be downloaded here.