U.S. engaged in ‘extra-judicial killings’ of civilians in Af-Pak-Iraq Using ‘unmanned drones’

“The Obama administration is ramping up its use of drone unmanned aircraft to execute targeted killings in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and perhaps in other locations - and, in the process, killing civilians along with insurgents, and risking the compromise of US moral imperatives and foreign policy goals.”

That's the view of a leading civil rights organization, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), calling on the president to lift the curtain of secrecy and level with the American people.

The ACLU law suit demands the U.S. government prove its legal basis for targeted drone attacks overseas, The March 16 lawsuit seeks to press the Departments of State, Defense and Justice on the ACLU's initial January Freedom of Information Act request for information on the drone program, the organization's release said.

The lawsuit requests information on the number and rate of civilian casualties; where, when and against whom drone strikes can be authorized; and other information essential for judging the legality of using armed drones to carry out targeted killings.

"The public has a right to know whether the targeted killings being carried out in its name are consistent with international law and with the country's interests and values," said Jonathan Manes, a legal fellow with the ACLU National Security Project.

"The Obama administration should disclose basic information about the program, including its legal basis and limits, and the civilian casualty toll thus far."

The ACLU's lawsuit also seeks information about program oversight and accurate data concerning the numbers of people killed in drone strikes -- both civilian and non-civilian.

The CIA and the military have used unmanned drones to target and kill individuals not only in Afghanistan and Iraq but also in Pakistan and, in at least one case in 2002, Yemen. The technology allows U.S. personnel to observe targeted individuals in real time and launch missiles intended to kill them from control centers located thousands of miles away.

The ACLU made an initial Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information on the drone program in January. The lawsuit against the Defense Department, the State Department and the Justice Department seeks to enforce that request. None of the three agencies have provided any documents in response to the request, nor have they given any reason for withholding documents.

"The use of unmanned drones to target and kill individuals is a profoundly new way of waging war. For the first time, military and intelligence officers can observe, track, and launch missiles at targeted individuals from control centers located thousands of miles away, without any significant US presence on the ground. The technology also permits the United States to target individuals nearly anywhere in the world," the ACLU claimed.

The number of civilian casualties caused by drone attacks varies from the dozens to the hundreds. Human rights organizations are particularly concerned that drones could be used to target criminal suspects rather than legitimate military targets. Criminal suspects should be arrested and tried in civilian courts, the ACLU contended, adding that failure to do so could amount to "unlawful extrajudicial killings."

The ACLU also raised concerns about the wisdom of using drones on policy and moral grounds.

"We hope that the Obama administration will live up to its professed commitments to transparency and openness in government and release this essential information in a timely manner," the group said.

Within days of his inauguration as president, Barack Obama ordered the CIA to continue President Bush’s policy of attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones in Western Pakistan. By October of 2009, the CIA had launched around 80 drone attacks. These attacks cannot be justified under international law for a number of reasons.

In a case study released in December 2009 by Notre Dame Legal Studies Paper via the Social Science Research Network the study says why they cannot be justified under international laws:

Excerpt: "First drones launch missiles or drop bombs, the kind of weapons that may only be used lawfully in an armed conflict. Until the spring of 2009, there was no armed conflict on the territory of Pakistan because there was no intense armed fighting between organized armed groups. International law does not recognize the right to kill without warning outside an actual armed conflict. Killing without warning is only tolerated during the hostilities of an armed conflict, and, then, only lawful combatants may lawfully carry out such killing.

Members of the CIA are not lawful combatants and their participation in killing persons - even in an armed conflict - is a crime. Members of the United States armed forces could be lawful combatants in Pakistan if Pakistan expressly requested United States assistance in a civil war to end a challenge to Pakistan’s civilian government. No express request of this nature has been made. Even if it were made, drone attacks are the wrong tactic in the context of Western Pakistan. The CIA’s intention in using drones is to target and kill individual leaders of al-Qaeda or Taliban militant groups. Drones have rarely, if ever, killed just the intended target.

By October 2009, the ratio has been about 20 leaders killed for 750-1000 unintended victims. Drones are having a counter-productive impact in Pakistan’s attempt to repress militancy and violence. The use of the drone is, therefore, violating the war-fighting principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality and humanity." ( End Excerpts)

The Asian Tribune carries below an account taken from a web site about the production of ‘Drones’ and related information.

(Begin Quote)San Diego, a major city in the California close to Los Angeles, is home to defense contractors General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Northrop Grumman, the world's largest and leading manufacturers of drones. General Atomics builds the Predator and Reaper drones. Northrop Grumman provides the software for a similar aircraft, the Global Hawk spy drone.

These remotely controlled vehicles come with a hefty price tag -- Predator and Reaper's range between $4-$12 million and the Global Hawk's cost about $35 million. With their high tech sophistication, drones have become the weapon of choice in fighting the U.S. occupations.

More than 7000 drones are ready to prowl the skies over Afghanistan and Iraq. The demand for drone surveillance and strikes has increased through the request of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for $112.9 million in the next $708 billion defense bill. Last year, U.S. tax payers paid $489 million for 24 new Reaper drones and $554 million for the Global Hawk drones in the 2010 defense bill.

San Diego residents can catch a glimpse of the Predator and Global Hawk drones at the AeroSpace Museum, but those in Afghanistan and Pakistan are not likely to have such casual contact. Drones scout over the two countries launching Hellfire missiles onto intended targets.

Since July 2009, there have been 89 drone strikes in Afghanistan. In the first two weeks of January, six drone strikes took place. The strikes have escalated under General Stanley McChrystal to prevent civilian casualties. Though with the latest U.S. and NATO assault in Marja, 16 innocent civilians have been killed; pointing out that U.S. military intervention in the region is not the way to bring real and sustainable change. In Pakistan, it may never be known how many civilians have died as a result of U.S. Predator and Reaper drone strikes, but there are estimates of hundreds of innocent bystanders who have perished in the attacks. Pakistani authorities released statistics indicating that in 2009, drone strikes had killed over 700 innocent civilians. January 2010 proved to be a deadly month with 123 innocent civilians killed. Latest reports, show that 18 missiles by eight drones killed 16 innocent people on February 2nd.(Close Quote)

The United States, which is often makes public pronouncements and produce official documents through the State Department alleging that civilians are killed in battle zones by countries that are facing separatist/terrorist threats, has now been called upon to exhibit its accountability of ‘extra-judicial killings’ of civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

- Asian Tribune -