Obama administration asked to disclose info about drone attacks

March 17, 2010 01:15 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 07:18 am IST - Washington

U.S. President Barack Obama. File photo: AP.

U.S. President Barack Obama. File photo: AP.

An eminent civil liberties union has filed a lawsuit seeking information about the highly secretive US drone attacks, especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“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 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Security Project.

“The Obama administration should disclose basic information about the programme, including its legal basis and limits, and the civilian casualty toll thus far,” he said in a statement.

The lawsuit asks for information on when, where and against whom drone strikes can be authorised, the number and rate of civilian casualties and other basic information essential for assessing the wisdom and legality of using armed drones to conduct targeted killings.

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.

“None of the three agencies have provided any documents in response to the request, nor have they given any reason for withholding documents. The CIA answered the ACLU’s request by refusing to confirm or deny the existence of any relevant documents.

“The CIA is not a defendant in today’s lawsuit because the ACLU will first appeal the CIA’s non—response to the Agency Release Panel,” it said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.