USA

Drone strikes: Not enough transparency

The USA have published the guidelines for controversial drone attacks, and give an insight in the war against Terror. However, the transparency doesn’t work for critics in far enough.

It took three years, until the United States, the
To published guidelines in their controversial drone attacks. Critics had demanded again and again. Now, the government in Washington has made your guide for drone attacks, the “Presidential Policy Guideline” public – but only after the American people had a right to complain to the organization “American Civil Liberties Union” (ACLU).

In the since 2013, existing policies, and explains what conditions must there be for the use of drones. For example, US President Barack Obama had to agree to the attacks personally, if for instance, there are differences of opinion in the military. Also, there is talk that us Drone “practical safety”, Mr must be that the terrorists, the attack, are actually at the place. In addition, it should be ensured that no civilians will be killed.

Estimates of civilian casualties doubts

But the met also? Long the United States have given no data about how many civilians were killed in drone attacks. In July 2016, the US government had published for the first Time, estimates of the number of civilian casualties between 2009 and 2011, flown drone operations. Outside of the war zones, up to 116 civilians have been killed. Human rights activists think that this number is a total far too low.

The policies of the US drone attacks were only published with redacted on the side of the ACLU

Jennifer Gibson, co-ordinates the work of the British NGO “Reprieve” on the topic of drone strikes. You criticized that in the case of the number not by year, country or attack was broken down. Independent organizations would understand no ability to what to put behind it.

“The right to self-defense”

Justification of the use of drones in Anti-Terror fight by the United States under international law, with the “right to self-defense”. American drones are also used in areas in which the US is not officially at war, involved – for example, in countries such as Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

That the guidelines have not been made for three years, accessible to the Public, holds Jennifer Gibson is very disturbing. For the American lawyer, the publication is not a profit, because it is a step in the direction of more transparency, but overall not enough: “We have no information about whether these policies are ever followed.” Gibson has fundamental doubts in this type of the Anti-terrorist struggle: “If the program is generally illegal, then the rules are irrelevant.”

Marcel Dickow is the head of the research group for security policy at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und politik

“Bureaucratic Solution”

Marcel Dickow, head of the research group for security policy at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und politik in Berlin, considers the publication a “bureaucratic replacement measure” instead of a critical examination: “It is the attempt of a bureaucratic solution to a really ethical and legal problem.” Because the manual say nothing about whether the US drone attacks were legitimate and legal. With the publication of trials on the issue in a bid to conceal, whether or not the have all to do anything with due process of law.

The NGO “Reprieve” was released in the year 2014, a report on the drone war. The result: 41 “goals”, the President stood on the Kill-list in the U.S., a total of 1147 people were killed.

Information is missing

The published guidelines do not answer all questions about the US Drone operations. “A lot remains in the dark,” says Marcel Dickow, compared to the DW. So, it is not clear why anyone would target would be selected and how the information with which this classification was made would come. Also, who was killed in the drone attacks, concealing from the U.S. government.

This car was destroyed in Pakistan by a US drone attack

“Should have a democracy at all is a Kill-list?” This is according to Jennifer Gibson, one of the most important questions to ask yourself in addition to the United States, Europe. In your opinion, should also be discussed whether the drone operations were strategically smart, and the US would this even safer.