Armed Drones

Dr. Mir is a Senior Expert at the United States Institute of Peace and an affiliate with Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. His research interests are in the International Relations of South Asia, political violence, US counterterrorism policy, al-Qaida, and social media and politics. Some of his research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, such as International Security, International Studies Quarterly, and Security Studies. My commentary has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, H-Diplo, Lawfare, Modern War Institute, New York Times, Political Violence at a Glance, Politico, and Washington Post.

John O. Brennan has 33 years of government experience, culminating in his service as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017. After retiring from federal service, Mr. Brennan transitioned to serve as the Distinguished Fellow for Global Security at Fordham University’s Center on National Security. In addition to many professional credentials, Mr. Brennan graduated from Fordham University in 1977 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science.

Paul Lushenko is a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, General Andrew Jackson Goodpaster Scholar, and Deputy Director of the Brooks School Tech. Policy Institute at Cornell University, where he is pursuing a Doctorate in International Relations with a focus on the perceived legitimacy of drone strikes. He has written and lectured widely on drone warfare and is the co-editor of “Drones and Global Order: The Implications of Remote Warfare for International Society” (2022). After commissioning as a military intelligence officer in 2005 from West Point, LTC Lushenko studied at The Australian National University and the U.S. Naval War College. He is also a Council on Foreign Relations term member and adjunct research lecturer for the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security at Charles Sturt University.

Sarah E. Kreps is the John L. Wetherill Professor in the Cornell University Department of Government, Adjunct Professor of Law, and Director of the Cornell Tech Policy Lab. She has written five books that explore the intersection of international politics, technology, and national security, including “Drone Warfare” (2014) and “Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know” (2016). Professor Kreps is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard University, West Point, and the University of Virginia. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a Master of Science degree from Oxford University, and a Doctorate from Georgetown. Between 1999 and 2003, Professor Kreps served as an active-duty U.S. Air Force officer.

Former Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill – unindicted and undefeated – to pursue a career as a writer. In addition to writing two critically acclaimed satires of Washington, he heads Cornell University’s nonpartisan Institute of Politics and Global Affairs in New York City. Mr. Israel was a member of Congress for 16 years. He left in 2017, having served as House Democrats’ chief political strategist from 2011 to 2015 as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. President Bill Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress” — which, Mr. Israel notes, isn’t really saying much at all. He is a regular political commentator on MSNBC and his insights appear regularly in The New York Times and The Atlantic, as well as The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. He was profiled on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and appeared on the CBS institution “60 Minutes.” As the Director of Cornell’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, Mr. Israel leads the only academically based institute of politics in the New York City metropolitan area. Its mission is to raise the discourse and foster a deeper understanding of political issues and geopolitics.