a) every operation is conducted in total secrecy
b) most of it is executed remotely, or occasionally via Special Forces commandos on the ground when drones can't get the job done
c) they are (apparently) based off of a 'kill-list', which is essentially an assassination list
This is very different than the decades of conventional warfare the US traditionally engaged in, using troops and engagements openly talked about to the public (even if it's after the fact).
It is only comparable to the CIA operations in latin america in the 1980s.
No, there aren't.
> a) every operation is conducted in total secrecy
Within the drone program, which is largely a secrete component of an overt global military anti-"terrorism" campaign, sure. But having a major secret component of an overt effort isn't new or unique since the inception of the drone program, its been a regular part of the post-WWII permanent war.
> b) most of it is executed remotely, or occasionally via Special Forces commandos on the ground when drones can't get the job done
Yes, the technology for precisely targetted remote attacks is new, though using whatever remote attack capability was available isn't. So, yes, technology advances.
Obviously, use of Special Forces is not new.
> c) they are (apparently) based off of a 'kill-list', which is essentially an assassination list
Assassination as a tool of state policy by the US in the covert portion of its permanent wars isn't a new product of drones, either.
Drones certainly lower the political cost of war, but they aren't something that "risks" war without end, they are something developed and deployed in an environment where "war without end" was already the established reality.