But they are only as precise as the intelligence that feeds them. “Drone strikes have been sold to the American public on the claim that they’re ‘precise’. The analysis is a partial estimate of the damage wrought by Obama’s favored weapon of war, a tool he and his administration describe as far more precise than more familiar instruments of land or air power. Their data, shared with the Guardian, raises questions about the accuracy of US intelligence guiding strikes that US officials describe using words like “clinical” and “precise.” Reprieve, sifting through reports compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, examined cases in which specific people were targeted by drones multiple times. Attempts to kill 41 men resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,147 people, as of 24 November. For the death of a man whom practically no American can name, the US killed 128 people, 13 of them children, none of whom it meant to harm.Ī new analysis of the data available to the public about drone strikes, conducted by the human-rights group Reprieve, indicates that even when operators target specific individuals – the most focused effort of what Barack Obama calls “targeted killing” – they kill vastly more people than their targets, often needing to strike multiple times. Then they came on 23 June 2009, 15 January 2010, 2 October 2010 and 7 October 2010.įinally, on 15 October 2010, Hellfire missiles fired from a Predator or Reaper drone killed Hussain, the Pakistani Taliban later confirmed. The drones first came for Hussain years before, on 29 January 2008. Hussain was a deputy commander of the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group aligned with al-Qaida that trained the would-be Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, before his unsuccessful 2010 attack. However many Americans know who Zawahiri is, far fewer are familiar with Qari Hussain. Seventy-six children and 29 adults, according to reports after the two strikes, are not. The numbers also do not include airstrikes in combat zones, which include Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.Eight years later, Zawahiri is still alive. And the report contained this caveat: "The 2016 figures released today should be considered in light of the inherent limitations on the ability to determine the precise number of combatant and non-combatant deaths given the non-permissive environments in which these strikes often occur." The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which released the report, acknowledged Thursday that there are "differences" between governmental and non-governmental numbers. "They know, better than anybody, how many civilians are actually killed, and it’s important for official figures to match reality," said the center's executive director, Federico Borello.īut he applauded the Obama administration for a step toward transparency and said he hoped the Trump administration will continue those efforts. The Center for Civilians in Conflict said it was disappointed that the report wasn't more detailed, and noted that it falls well short of numbers reported by most independent observers. The 2016 report was more specific than the one released last year, which covered seven years and estimated 64 to 116 civilian casualties in 473 drone strikes. Those numbers were greeted skeptically by human rights organizations, which estimated 200 to 1,000 civilian casualties. Bush, according to estimates by non-government organizations. The new numbers demonstrate that Obama has ordered at least 526 drone strikes during his presidency - 10 times more than President George W. Most of the White House press office had left the administration by Thursday and could not be reached for comment. official, who requested anonymity in order to speak on a sensitive political matter, said the White House called intelligence agencies Thursday to push out the report, saying if it wasn't released now it may never be. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to rescind many of Obama's executive orders, so the release of the report appeared timed to get it out before the inauguration on Friday. The annual report was required by President Obama's executive order signed last year, and comes just hours before the end of his term. forces conducted 53 drone strikes against terrorists last year, killing at least 431 enemy combatants and one civilian, according to an intelligence community report released Thursday night. Watch Video: Obama Administration: Drone strikes killed 1 civilian in 2016
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |