Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Truth About Obama Drone Attacks

by Abby Haglage

Ahead of what is poised to be a heated debate next Friday at the U.N. General Assembly, the international NGO Human Rights Watch has released an exhaustive and shocking report alleging that the U.S. has failed to comply with international law in its use of drones to fight counterterrorism. Gathered over the course of six weeks from a HRW reporter on the ground in Yemen, the report focuses on six specific drone strikes that led to the death of 82 people—at least 57 of whom were civilians—according to the organization.

Its author, Letta Tayler, a senior terrorism and counterterrorism researcher for Human Rights Watch, told The Daily Beast that the six incidents “represent a range of questions that the [Obama] administration needs to answer—from indiscriminate attacks to killing when capture may have been feasible.”

The findings paint a portrait of a drone strike program starkly different than the one spelled out during remarks by President Obama in May of this year. “America does not take strikes to punish individuals—we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people,” the president said, adding that terrorists would only be considered a viable target for a drone strike if capture was not feasible.

Read the rest here.

1 comment:

  1. That is shocking! Because I am shocked - shocked! - to think that if targeting a sixteen-year-old (US citizen!) whose father was himself "drone-stricken" two weeks prior, does comply with international terrorism laws, then what doesn't?

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