THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Carol E. Lee and Adam Entous
31 Jan2012
"Drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties," Mr. Obama said Monday
when asked about the drone program during an online question-and-answer session.
"There's this perception that we're just sending a whole bunch of strikes willy-nilly," he added. "This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists who are trying to go in and harm Americans. … It is important for everybody to understand that this thing is kept on a very tight leash."
The online video exchange with members of the public covered a range of topics and was sponsored by Google Inc. The White House declined to elaborate on Mr. Obama's remarks or explain why he decided to discuss the drone program publicly at this time.
Until now, officials have stopped short of talking so broadly about the program, because the campaign is supposed to be a government secret. Some officials have expressed frustration that a more public defense of the drone campaign hadn't been mounted as it has faced increased scrutiny—from international human-rights groups but particularly in Pakistan.
U.S. officials estimate the drone campaign has killed more than 1,500 suspected militants on Pakistani soil alone since Mr. Obama took office in 2009.
The U.S. says roughly 60 civilians have been killed there. Pakistani officials and some human-rights group say the number of civilian dead is far higher.
Proponents of more disclosure inside the administration and the military argue U.S. secrecy has fueled charges in Pakistan that the drone strikes frequently kill civilians. They say releasing at least some details about the operations will help deflect criticism.
According to officials, changes were made to the drone program last year to give greater weight to diplomatic considerations, including relations with Pakistan, in deciding when to launch strikes.
The CIA and the U.S. military also conduct drone strikes in Yemen against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but that campaign has so far been much smaller in scale. The U.S. military has conducted a limited number of strikes in Somalia against al Qaeda-linked militants there.
The CIA conducts two types of drone strikes in Pakistan.
So-called "personality" strikes target terrorist leaders who have been identified. CIA "signature" strikes target groups of men believed to be militants associated with terrorist groups, but whose identities aren't always known. The bulk of CIA's drone strikes are signature strikes. The White House rebuffed CIA requests to start carrying out "signature" strikes in Yemen.
The program has stoked tensions in U.S. relations with Pakistan and other countries. Mr. Obama suggested relations with Pakistan and other countries would be more frayed if the U.S. didn't have the option of using unmanned drones. "We have to be judicious in how we use drones, but understand that probably our ability to respect the sovereignty of other countries and … to limit our incursions into somebody else's territory is enhanced by the fact that we are able to pinpoint-strike an al Qaeda operative in a place where the capacity of that military in that country may not be able to get them," he said.
"For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military actions than the one that we're already engaging in," the president said.
Mr. Obama has made drones and special-operations forces the centerpiece of the administration's fight against terrorism.
The president credited his administration's use of drones with helping put the U.S. "on the offense" against al Qaeda.
"For the most part, they have been very precise precision strikes against al Qaeda and their affiliates, and we have been very careful about how it's been applied," he said. "Al Qaeda's been really weakened, but we've still got a little more work to do, and we've got to make sure that we're using all of our capacities to deal with it."
Source: WSJ
Pakistan's Response
The article, “Pakistan Repeats Condemnation of Drone Strikes Following Obama’s Remarks” pub in VOA on 31 Jan 2012 quotes: Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told VOA on Tuesday that the U.S. missiles strikes are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. He called the attacks illegal, counterproductive and unacceptable.
International Response
USA urged to clarify basis for drone killings in Pakistan-Amnesty International (31 January 2012)
"The US authorities must give a detailed explanation of how these strikes are lawful and what is being done to monitor civilian casualties and ensure proper accountability, said Sam Zarifi Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director.
"What are the rules of engagement? What proper legal justification exists for these attacks? While the President's confirmation of the use of drones in Pakistan is a welcome first step towards transparency, these and other questions need to be answered."
Source: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-urged-clarify-basis-drone-killings-pakistan-2012-01-31
Bureau of Investigative Journalism, (UK): Analysis: Obama outs ‘secret’ CIA drone campaign – but do his words add up? Chris Woods February 1st, 2012:
The Claims
It’s worth looking in some detail at Obama’s comments. Do they stand up to scrutiny?
1. ‘Drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties’
Highly questionable – as Russia Today noted, it depends how you define ‘huge’. The CIA admitted last summer, after the Bureau published its database on Pakistan drone strikes, that it had killed approximately 50 civilians during the campaign. The Bureau’s data indicates this to be a significant under-estimate. Between 464 and 815 civilians are reported by credible media as being killed since 2004 – 175 of them children. During Obama’s presidency alone, some 282-535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed. The CIA claims it has killed no ‘non combatants’ in Pakistan since May 2010 – despite extensive findings to the contrary.
2. ‘For the most part they have been very precise precision strikes against al Qaeda and their affiliates.’
True, in the main. CIA strikes are still rare when compared to US or UK military operations. And the Bureau’s data indicates that the majority of those killed have been alleged militants belonging to various Afghan and Pakistan Taliban factions, and to a lesser extent al Qaeda.
‘This is a targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists.’
Historically untrue, although the US may have changed its targeting policy in recent weeks. From summer 2008 the CIA radically broadened its targeting policy, allowing crews to attack not only High Value Targets (senior militants) but also gatherings of unknown alleged militants. The majority of those killed in strikes in Pakistan have been anonymous individuals, whose names are unknown to the CIA.
3. ‘Going after al Qaeda suspects, who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, for us to be able to get them in another way, would involve probably a lot more intrusive military actions than the one that we’re already engaging in.’
True. President Obama made clear even before he came to power that he would target militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Apart from the Osama bin Laden raid, Obama has steered clear of US Special Forces operations on the ground. Loathed as US drone strikes now are in Islamabad, US ‘boots on the ground’ would be far more controversial.
Studies
Two recent studies on the efficacy of the U.S. drone strikes both suggest that they have limited value in terms of managing the threat of terrorism in the FATA (though their findings are nuanced and merit closer reading).
a. The first study, by Patrick Johnston and Anoop Sarbahi, concludes that “drone strikes are associated with reductions in (1) militant attacks (2) fatalities inflicted in militant attacks (3) IED attacks and (4) suicide attacks,” but it adds that “any reduction in terrorist activity associated with the drone campaign appears modest in scope.” http://patrickjohnston.info/
b. The second study, by David Jaeger and Zahra Siddique, finds that “while the drone strikes [in the FATA] may do little to damage the operational capabilities of the Taliban (there are always other Taliban recruits to take the place of a militant leader killed in a drone strike)…the show of strength through these strikes may reduce subsequent terrorist attacks by the Taliban in Pakistan.” http://ftp.iza.org/dp6262.pdf
New York Times, (US): U.S. Said to Target Rescuers at Drone Strike Sites, By Scott Shane: February 6, 2012: British and Pakistani journalists said Sunday that the C.I.A.’s drone strikes on suspected militants in Pakistan have repeatedly targeted rescuers who responded to the scene of a strike, as well as mourners at subsequent funerals.
The report, by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found that at least 50 civilians had been killed in follow-up strikes after they rushed to help those hit by a drone-fired missile. The bureau counted more than 20 other civilians killed in strikes on funerals. The findings were published on the bureau’s Web site and in The Sunday Times of London.
The bureau’s findings are based on interviews with witnesses to strikes in Pakistan’s rugged tribal area, where reporting is often dangerous and difficult. American officials have questioned the accuracy of such claims, asserting that accounts might be concocted by militants or falsely confirmed by residents who fear retaliation.
But most other studies of drone strikes have relied on sketchy and often contradictory news reports from Pakistan. The bureau’s investigation, which began last year with a detailed study of civilian casualties, involved interviews with villagers who said they saw strikes, wounded people and family members of those killed.
The bureau counted 260 strikes by Predator and Reaper drones since President Obama took office, and it said that 282 to 535 civilians had been “credibly reported” killed in those attacks, including more than 60 children. American officials said that the number was much too high, though they acknowledged that at least several dozen civilians had been killed inadvertently in strikes aimed at militant suspects.
World Socialist Web Site, (UK):
CIA drones target rescue workers, mourners, Patrick Martin, 7 February 2012: Experts on international law have characterized these follow-up drone missile strikes as war crimes. Clive Stafford Smith, who has fought for the release of many innocent men held in Guantanamo Bay, told BIJ the drone strikes “are like attacking the Red Cross on the battlefield. It’s not legitimate to attack anyone who is not a combatant.”
Christof Heyns, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, told the group: “Allegations of repeat strikes coming back after half an hour when medical personnel are on the ground are very worrying. To target civilians would be crimes of war.”
U.S. terror drones target rescuers and funerals in Pakistan killing civilians, investigative report reveals (Extracts)
Daya Gamage – Asian Tribune presentation
Washington, DC. 11 February (Asiantribune.com):
‘Drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties’, he told a questioner at an on-line forum last month. ‘This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists trying to go in and harm Americans’.
But research by the Bureau has found that since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children. A three month investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism including eye witness reports has found evidence that at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims. More than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners.
As part of its ongoing investigation into the US covert war the Bureau has examined thousands of credible media reports relating to more than 310 Central Intelligence Agency drone strikes in Pakistan.
These incidents were reported by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, CNN, ABC News, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP and the BBC.
Findings
There have been 260 attacks by unmanned Predators or Reapers in Pakistan by Obama’s administration – averaging one every four days. Because the attacks are carried out by the CIA, no information is given on the numbers killed.
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