Obama Administration Drone Death Tally Falls Short, Critics Say
“It’s hard to credit this death count, which is lower than all independent assessments,” says Hina Shamsi, director of the National Security Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
A predator drone on display at Trapani air base in Italy. (Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum / CC BY-SA 2.0)
A predator drone on display at Trapani air base in Italy. (Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum / CC BY-SA 2.0)
In what Ryan Deveraux at The Intercept called “a long-anticipated gesture at transparency,” the Obama administration on Friday released an internal accounting of civilians killed by drone strikes in nations where the U.S. isn’t officially at war.
“According to the data,” Devereaux wrote, “U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya killed between 64 and 116 civilians during the two terms of the Obama administration — a fraction of even the most conservative estimates on drone-related killings catalogued by reporters and researchers over the same period. The government tally also reported 2,372 to 2,581 combatants killed in U.S. airstrikes from January 20, 2009, to December 31, 2015.”
Devereaux skeptically pointed out that the White House released the figures “on a Friday afternoon, on a holiday weekend, after seven years of selective leaks and official secrecy.” President Obama cast the release and an accompanying executive order prioritizing the protection of civilian life in counterterrorism actions as an affirmation of core American principles.
But many in the legal and human rights communities felt the “Friday news dump” failed in particular areas. Devereaux continued:
“It’s hard to credit this death count, which is lower than all independent assessments,” Hina Shamsi, the director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, told The Intercept.
Organizations such as the Long War Journal, the New America Foundation, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimate that at least 200 and as many as 1,000 civilians have been killed by American drone strikes in nations where the U.S. is not at war since Obama took office. The administration offered no individualized accounts to explain where its numbers came from, or who the civilian casualties were. Without the government addressing individual cases, disclosing the identities of those killed, or providing detailed information on the investigations undergirding its conclusions, Shamsi contended, little could be done with the disclosures.
“Without key information like this, the public can’t be confident,” she said.
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Your support matters…Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Courts & Law
"Trump's legal theory defies common sense and would enable an almost limitless tyranny," warned Public Citizen's president.
Courts & Law
"This decision is a devastating blow to the civil rights of every American, and the integrity of our nation's electoral system."
Ear to the Ground
A new bill would inscribe a “right to housing” in the Golden State’s constitution.
The decision conflicts with those by three other federal appeals courts.
The lawsuit centers on two trans sprinters who have frequently outperformed their cisgender competitors.
A ProPublica investigation reveals how Border Patrol's nearly unchecked powers over the fate of migrants is tearing families apart.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.