I wonder whether the rules of war really can apply to someone who is operating the guns of some UAV from several time zones away. If that’s the case, does that person even need to be military? Just wondering what other folks think.
That question has already been raised and discussed since some Predator "pilots" are CIA civilians...do they qualify as non-uniformed combatants? The general legal consensus is that the UAV itself is the instrument of war, and as long as it's clearly marked as a U.S. aircraft it's in compliance with international treaties and conventions.