In March, U.S. counterterrorism czar and Deputy National Security Adviser Lisa Monaco announced that the White House would soon release statistics on drone strikes since 2009:
"In the coming weeks, the administration will publicly release an assessment of combatant and noncombatant casualties resulting from strikes taken outside areas of active hostilities since 2009," Monaco said during an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Going forward, these figures will be provided annually. Because we know that not only is greater transparency the right thing to do, it is the best way to maintain the legitimacy of our counterterrorism actions and the broad support of our allies."
That report could come into the public eye as soon as Friday. Then, it’s supposed to be an annual thing.
While more openness about the deaths of civilians the nation’s armed drones have caused is certainly welcome, we can only hope the report, when it does appear, will not repeat what has been said about these deaths in the past. Because we’ve been lied to previously.
In this regard, the UK-based international human rights group Reprieve released its own report Thursday—Opaque Transparency. An excerpt:
What little the Obama Administration has previously said on the record about the drone program has been shown by the facts on the ground, and even the US Government’s own internal documents, to be false. Any claim of low numbers of civilian casualties will therefore have to be read against the more rigorous work of organisations such as the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), which estimates a low of 492 civilian casualties across Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, and a high of potentially 1138. Amongst these are somewhere between 180 and 227 children.
Indeed, every independent organisation which tracks drone strikes has estimated civilian casualties to be higher than off-record Administration estimates by a factor of anything from four to twenty. The lowest estimate, provided by the Long War Journal, puts the civilian death toll at a minimum of 263 for Yemen and Pakistan, while New America (NA) suggests a low of 373 for Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, with a high of 448 (excluding ‘unknowns,’ which could take the total up to 797).
But more importantly, it has to be asked what bare numbers will mean if they omit even basic details such as the names of those killed and the areas, even the countries, they live in. Equally, the numbers without the definitions to back up how the Administration is defining its targets is useless, especially given reports the Obama Administration has shifted the goalposts on what counts as a ‘civilian’ to such an extent that any estimate may be far removed from reality. In US drone operations, reports suggest all “military aged males” and potentially even women and children are considered “enemies killed in action” unless they can “posthumously” and “conclusively” prove their innocence.
TOP COMMENTS
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2002—Other priorities:
In what is shaping up to be an interesting administration leak, anonymous officials say that the pre-9-11 Bush Administration didn't have terrorism on its radar screen. Despite intense focus on the problem by the Clinton Administration, Bush's National Security Council discussed terrorism in only two of its first 100 meetings.
So, while the Bushes were interested in restarting the Cold War with North Korea and China, terrorism was barely an afterthought. Missile defense was important. Al Queda was ignored. Restarting nuclear testing was a priority. Securing our airports was not.
Lucky for the administration, the 4th of July weekend is coming up, giving it ample opportunities to sound the terrorism alarm bell.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Greg Dworkin rounds up news and the latest Trump/Brexit takes, including one that posits that culture counts more than class. More fuel for the dumpster fire: the latest in Trump frauds & cons includes the Trump Institute, Trump Network & Trump’s charitable giving.
On iTunes | On Stitcher | Support the show: Patreon; PayPal; PayPal Subscription