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US Drones - and the death of "innocent" civilians

Obama may have down-played the killing by drones now used extensively by the USA over quite a number of countries - has anyone at the White House and Pentagon heard about the sovereignty of nations? - but a report put out by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism concludes that many civilians, including those attending funerals and rescuers, have been killed by drones,

"The CIA’s drone campaign in Pakistan has killed dozens of  civilians who had gone to help rescue victims or were attending funerals, an investigation by the Bureau for the Sunday Times has revealed.

The findings are published just days after President Obama claimed that the drone campaign in Pakistan was a ‘targeted, focused effort’ that ‘has not caused a huge number of civilian casualties.’

Speaking publicly for the first time on the controversial CIA drone strikes, Obama claimed last week they are used strictly to target terrorists, rejecting what he called ‘this perception we’re just sending in a whole bunch of strikes willy-nilly’.

‘Drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties’, he told a questioner at an on-line forum. ‘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 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. The tactics have been condemned by leading legal experts.

Although the drone attacks were started under the Bush administration in 2004, they have been stepped up enormously under Obama."


Total reported killed: 2,383 - 3,019
Civilians reported killed: 464 - 815
Children reported killed: 175
Total reported injured: 1,149-1,241
Total strikes: 312
Obama strikes: 260

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