Sudden Justice
America's Secret Drone Wars
Will be published approx. on 16. April 2015
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-84904-402-8 (ISBN)
Description
Sudden Justice explores the secretive history of the United States' use of armed drones and their key role not only on today's battlefields, but also in a covert targeted killing project that has led to the deaths of thousands. Days after 9/11, a CIA Predator in Afghanistan executed the world's first lethal drone strike. The Agency's role was no accident - it had nurtured and developed drones for almost a decade, seeking a platform from which it could monitor its targets and act lethally and instantly on what was learned. Since then remotely piloted aircraft have played a critical role in America's global counterterrorism operations and have been deployed to devastating effect in conventional wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. But there is another, covert war - one in which drones scour the skies of Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia in search of militant and terrorist targets. The American government insists that this secret war is legal. The CIA even claims that its armed drones are 'the most precise weapon ever invented', so perfect that civilians are no longer killed.Sudden Justice describes the reality of this secret drone war, one in which hundreds of civilians have died, and where the long-term strategic interests of the West may have been jeopardised.
Reviews / Votes
'Woods brings a cool, informed perspective to this ominous topic, confidently examining the Pandora's box of legal, human rights, and governance issues raised by this deceptively simple weapon ... A clear-eyed and chilling account of warfare's present and future.' * Kirkus reviews * 'To appreciate the immediate history of the drone wars, especially the one in Pakistan, Chris Woods' book Sudden Justice is essential. Woods' massively detailed and well-researched book focuses mainly on the modern history of drones ... But perhaps [his] most critical contribution ... is the detailed account of the complicated relationship between Pakistan and the United States both leading up to and during the drone program in Pakistan. Woods does this using quotes, statistics, and facts to highlight the little-known and perhaps not oft-considered effect of the U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan: civilian casualties.' * Foreign Policy * 'Chris Woods has written a brilliant -- indeed, a definitive -- study of the evolution of weaponised drone warfare. Woods offers detail never previously released, from insiders in the drone program and in the intelligence community. Most importantly, he examines how the drones' targets -- guerrillas, terrorists, and rogue states -- have adapted, developed countermeasures, and (in some cases) begun to field their own competing drone programs. Anyone interested in the future of warfare needs to read this book -- we have certainly not seen the last of this form of conflict.' * David Kilcullen, author of The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One and Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla * 'Drones for intelligence gathering and precision attack will feature in every future conflict. Chris Woods has uncovered the extraordinary story of the drone and its controversial use by the US, both on the regular battlefield and in its covert war against terrorism. Essential reading for those who want to see the benefits of this technology realised within international law.' * Professor Sir David Omand, King's College London, Chair of the Birmingham Policy Commission on the Security Impact of Drones *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84904-402-8 (9781849044028)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Chris Woods is a widely published investigative journalist who specialises in conflict and national security issues. A former senior BBC Panorama producer, he has authored some of the key investigations into covert US drone strikes and their true effects. He was recently awarded the Martha Gellhorn Journalism Prize for his work.