In a report of U.S. counterterrorism strikes outside the three nations or “areas of hostilities”, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said that there were at least 64 “non-combatant” deaths.
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The use of drones to carry out targeted killings outside conventional warzones has been a contentious tactic, with critics having long said that U.S. drone strikes kill far more civilians than the administration claims.
The White House also announced Friday that Obama had signed an executive order telling us agencies they “shall maintain and promote best practices that reduce the likelihood of civilian casualties, take appropriate steps when such casualties occur, and draw lessons from our operations to further enhance the protection of civilians”.
The strikes were conducted by drones, traditional aircraft or cruise missiles in Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and other African countries, shows the report which was released on Friday. “But by narrowly targeting our action against those who want to kill us and not the people they hide among, we are choosing the course of action least likely to result in the loss of innocent life”.
“Unless details are provided on specific incidents, it’s not possible to determine if individuals killed were civilians, and thus whether the U.S.is complying with its own policy and with worldwide law”, said Laura Pitter, senior US national security counsel at Human Rights Watch.
“The figures do not include deaths in ground operations, such as the one that killed Osama bin Laden and four others in Pakistan in 2011, or operations in the administration-designated war zones of Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria”, it adds.
Human rights groups have long accused the United States government of obscuring the number of civilian casualties in drone and air strikes.
President Barack Obama speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 30, 2016.
In April, USA TODAY reported that the Pentagon had changed the rules of engagement to allow field commanders more leeway to order attacks – even where there’s a risk of civilian casualties.
The directive, which could be cancelled by the next president, requires government reviews of air strikes to include “credible reporting” by non-governmental groups.
“The president believes our counterterrorism strategy is more effective and has more credibility when we’re as transparent as possible”, Mr. “There are obviously limitations to transparency when it comes to matters as sensitive as this”. This is not the end of the public conversation on USA drone strikes, but just the beginning. “The U.S. Government uses post-strike methodologies that have been refined and honed over the years and that use information that is generally unavailable to non-governmental organizations”, itnoted. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, based in London, examined 424 strikes since 2004, and found between 424 and 966 civilian were killed. “Civilian casualties are a tragic and at times unavoidable effect of the use of force in situations of armed conflict”, Obama’s order states. The use of a range of estimated civilian deaths underscored the fact that the government often does not know for sure the affiliations of those killed.
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It said 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”.
