In 1948, with US leadership, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted as "the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." It was a clear commitment that power would no longer serve as a cover to oppress or injure people. The core principle behind each of the 30 articles of the declaration is equal rights. The articles detail the Declaration's equal rights of all people to life, liberty, security, protection of law and freedom from torture, arbitrary detention and forced exile.

"Revelations that top officials are targeting people to be assassinated abroad, including American citizens, are only the most recent, disturbing proof of how far our nation's violation of human rights has extended," writes the 39th president in the New York Times on Monday, June 25, 2012. Carter's critical Op Ed, A Cruel and Unusual Record, states that "with all the revolution sweeping around the world, America should 'make the world safer.' Instead, however, 'America's violaton of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends'."

Opponents say that drone strikes create more terrorists than they kill. They contend that drone strikes kill large numbers of civilians, violate international law, lack sufficient congressional oversight, violate the sovereignty of other nations, and make the horrors of war appear as innocuous as a video game.

A meta-study of drone strikes concluded 8 to 17% of all people killed in drone strikes are civilians.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), otherwise known as drones, are remotely-controlled aircraft which may be armed with missiles and bombs for attack missions

Drone pilots have a lower risk for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than pilots of manned aircraft and other battlefield soldiers

Drones kill very few "high-value" targets with alleged leadership roles in al Qaeda or anti-US Taliban factions

Drones kill fewer civilians, as a percentage of total fatalities, than any other military weapon.

Under international humanitarian law, the targeted individual must be directly participating in hostilities with the United States

Article 51 applies if the targeted state agrees to the use of force in its territory, or the targeted group operating within its territory was responsible for an act of aggression against the targeting state where the host state is unwilling or unable to control the threat themselves

Drone strikes are cheaper than engaging in ground or manned aerial combat

Drone strikes target individuals who may not be terrorists or enemy combatants.

Drone strikes make the United States safer by decimating terrorist networks across the world