US panel debates drone legality

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UVA's) or drones are remote-controlled aircraft without people onboard, which can carry and utilize missiles.

It is widely suspected that the US has used drones frequently to target al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan, although Washington has never admitted nor denied it.

But in alleged UVA attacks targeting the fighters, collateral damage has reportedly claimed the lives of many civilians.

As the US plans to order more drones to add to the more than 7000 they already have, there is still no legal framework or set of standards for how to use the new technology.

John Terret reports from Washington, where a US congressional committee has been held to debate the legality of UVA's usage in conflicts.

[March 24, 2010]