Two new reports officially released yesterday by human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have raised grave concerns about U.S. drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. Among the revelations were six drone attacks in Yemen, which resulted in the death of 82 people, including at least 57 civilians. These reports follow a UN investigation last week that found U.S. drone strikes killed at least 400 civilians in Pakistan — information never acknowledged by the U.S. government.
The White House’s over-reliance on drones has been in direct contravention with international law. Indiscriminately violating Pakistan’s northern borders, the United States has undermined the fundamental legal principle of state sovereignty — established in Chapter VII of the UN Charter — setting a very dangerous precedent. Indeed, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is to meet with President Barack Obama today, recently stated that operations conducted by U.S. forces have breached Pakistan’s sovereignty and undermined its efforts to combat extremism in the northern provinces.
Drones have been an attractive option for the U.S. military because they are cheap, relatively accurate and substitute military personnel in the air or on the ground. Al-Qaeda thrives in areas where security and government organizations are weak, so drones offer a practical option to avoid boots-on-the-ground operations in remote areas where local allies are hard to find. The U.S. government’s ultimate justification for the use of drones, however, is that collateral damage is inevitable, and the military is targeting people whose business is taking the lives of people.
The Amnesty International report highlighted growing anti-American sentiment in tribal areas of Pakistan, where the highest numbers of civilian casualties have occurred. The anxiety surrounding an imminent U.S. drone strike is cultivating “the same kind of fear … that was once only associated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.” Without any method of legal recourse for these human rights violations, sympathy for terrorist groups has increased among angry loved ones of murdered civilians. In this way, drone strikes might be al-Qaeda’s greatest tool in mobilizing against the United States. A Yemeni civilian testified against the dangers of continuing drone usagein hearings in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, and experts have expressed their concerns of increased radicalization as a result of these attacks. Young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, in her visit with Obama this month, warned that they are fuel for terrorism in her home country.
These investigations have further brought governmental transparency surrounding drone strikes into question. Although Obama declared that his administration was committed to protecting civilian life, his promise directly contradicts the reports. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for the U.S. government to be more forthcoming when releasing data about its drone programs, as present communication reflects hesitancy to divulge basic information. This covertness has permitted the United States to conduct strikes with unchecked impunity, a dangerous practice that indefinitely suspends accountability and prevents slain noncombatants from receiving due justice.
While the Obama administration has publicly announced its plan to severely limit the use of drones, the American people deserve to know the civilian cost of these targeted killings. As long as this expansive drone program exists, the U.S. government must be held accountable and disclose the number of civilian casualties that result from drone attacks. The reports confirm the extent of the human toll the U.S. drone program has inflicted on innocents in Yemen and Pakistan. Under the pretense of promoting peace, the United States has become an agent of violence.
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Oct. 23 print edition. Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].