White House releases its count of civilian deaths in counterterrorism operations under Obama
Source: The Washington Post
By Karen DeYoung and Greg Miller July 1 at 1:47 PM
The United States has inadvertently killed between 64 and 116 non-combatant civilians in drone and other lethal attacks against terrorism suspects in places not considered active war zones, the Obama administration said Friday.
The unintentional deaths came in a total of 473 CIA and military counterterrorism strikes up to the end of 2015 that the administration said have taken between 2372 and 2581 militants permanently off the battlefield in countries where the United States is not at war, which would include Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya.
The release was accompanied by an executive order, signed by President Obama, designed to give added weight to existing administration standards and procedures governing the use of lethal force and for limiting civilian casualties.
The long-awaited casualty disclosures are part of an attempt to live up to Obamas repeated promises of greater transparency about his administrations extraordinary reliance on armed drones in the targeted killings of terrorism suspects.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/white-house-releases-its-count-of-civilian-deaths-in-counterterrorism-operations-under-obama/2016/07/01/3196aa1e-3fa2-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html?wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-world%252Bnation
forest444
(5,902 posts)It's no secret that when discussing the drone strike program "militants" is code for collateral civilian deaths - mainly women and children.
uhnope
(6,419 posts)this isn't about "militants" at all. It's the USA admitting the civilian deaths it has been responsible for while fighting terrorism in the world.
some guy
(3,448 posts). . . in countries where the United States is not at war . . .
. . . targeted killings of terrorism suspects.
Killing suspects in countries where the US is not at war.
I think every US administration since Truman (inclusively) should have been retired to the Hague to be imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)We will never fall under The Hague. They can scream all day but will never touch an American.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)DU would be unanimous in opposition if there was a republican in the White House today.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I missed the bit when Republicans released a report of, and took responsibility for civilian deaths. My deep sorrow for focusing on the OP rather than a dogmatic narrative.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)"We don't do body counts" isn't just Cheney's slogan anymore
arcane1
(38,613 posts)Come on, Mr. Transparency. Put up or STFU.
Amazing how killing civilians has become so acceptable, even among alleged "progressives"
uhnope
(6,419 posts)malthaussen
(17,066 posts)askeptic
(478 posts)...and I wonder how long that will be the case.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)planes as weapons. That being said, every death that is caused by war of non-combatants is unacceptable and tragic.
Eugene
(61,593 posts)Source: The Guardian
Senior military officials defend controversial tactic despite US
government admitting it does not always know how many civilians
it kills
Spencer Ackerman in New York
Friday 1 July 2016 23.01 BST
The most controversial tactic of Barack Obamas drone strikes has survived an internal review intended to reduce civilian deaths: killing people without knowing who they are.
So-called signature strikes, targeting people whose behavior is assessed to be similar enough to those of terrorists to mark them for death, will continue, according to senior US officials.
Human-rights groups have long denounced the practice whose criteria can be as vague as killing military-aged males in regions where terrorists operate as anonymous killing.
Speaking with reporters on Friday after the US released a long-awaited tally of deaths caused by its drone strikes since 2009, senior administration officials indicated they believed contingencies exist which necessitate the retention of signature strikes.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/01/obama-continue-signature-strikes-drones-civilian-deaths
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)the fact that the vast majority of people in the fields wore black pajamas didn't matter.
Little Tich
(6,171 posts)Should I laugh at the idiocy of making such a deceitful list or should I be angry?