The German government could terminate the Status of Forces agreement, said Zimmermann, "but that would be a huge political decision that would question the entire alliance." But even if Germany believed international law had been violated, it would be difficult for Berlin to take legal action. Therefore "military forces and civilian personnel are allowed to take required measures for the satisfactory fulfillment of its defense obligations on the provided premises." And this applies to drone attacks according to US legal interpretation. The deployment of US troops in Germany has been regulated since the 1950s with the NATO Status of Forces Agreement. Therefore, the US argues, killing such a person would not violate international law.
In such conflicts, persons directly involved in fighting are deemed legitimate targets. However, Washington sees itself in a cross-border war against terror – a conflict with al Qaeda and its allies, not particular countries. Human rights organizations like Amnesty International accuse the US of violating international law. At least 2,300 people have been killed, among them 416 civilians.
Since 2004, the Investigative Bureau of Journalism estimates there have been 383 US drone strikes in the Pakistani-Afghan border region alone. For years the US has been using drones to fight terrorism in Africa, the Middle East and in the Pakistani-Afghan border region. What's more, live pictures taken from the drone operations are analyzed in Germany and compared with intelligence. The pilot controlling the drones is in the US, but with the long distance between the operational area and the US, the data from the remote controlled drones is transmitted via satellite to Germany and then sent via fiber optic cable back to America. The current debate centers around the US Ramstein Air Base in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. During his time in the US Air Force, Bryant flew more than 1,000 operations from the US. "The entire drone war of the US military wouldn't be possible without Germany," Bryant told German media. Statements made by Brandon Bryant, a former drone pilot for the US Air Force, reveal that Germany plays a greater role in the US drone war than previously thought.
Berlin powerless to challenge US drone operations at Ramstein air base Similarly, in some of the texts used in the case studies, the facts may not always be proven nevertheless, they have been selected because they highlight interesting IHL issues and are thus published for didactic purposes.Ī. They are nevertheless worthy of discussion, if only to raise a challenge to display more humanity in armed conflicts. As per the disclaimer, neither the ICRC nor the authors can be identified with the opinions expressed in the Cases and Documents. Some cases even come to solutions that clearly violate IHL. Yvette Issar, research assistant, both at the University of Geneva. student at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, under the supervision of Professor Marco Sassòli and Ms. Germany: Ramstein Air Base’s Role in Drone AttacksĬase prepared by Mr.
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