Rights groups say Obama's drone program violates international law. Two new reports on the use of drones by the United States in its ongoing war against Al- Qaeda add to a growing chorus of concern among human- rights groups that the Obama administration's drone program has violated international law and caused unnecessary civilian deaths, fear and chaos in Pakistan and Yemen. One report, released by Amnesty International, reviews 4. Last week saw a lot of flurried comments once again condemning US drone strikes in Pakistan. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif in a meeting with United States Ambassador to Pakistan, David Hale, on May 25, 2016. Future of drone program likely to be key discussion point when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Pakistan. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch question the justification for several drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen. One of Washington’s worst-kept secrets, the drone program is quietly hailed by counterterrorism officials as a resounding success, eliminating key terrorists and throwing their operations into disarray. WASHINGTON – Just after midnight last Christmas, Pakistani officials say, two Hellfire missiles from a U.S. North Waziristan and surrounding regions in Pakistan in 2. The area is considered a hotbed of Al- Qaeda activity and is the most targeted location in the world for drone strikes. The other report, released by Human Rights Watch, details the circumstances and aftermath of six strikes in Yemen, where drones are used less frequently than in Pakistan. Both reports conclude that in many cases, drone strikes may have breached international laws. Both also say that the White House's and CIA's lack of transparency surrounding the drone program makes it unaccountable to the citizens of the U. S. General Assembly on Oct. Amnesty International investigators conducted on- the- ground research into nine of the 4. They found that in some cases, innocent civilians were killed in the strikes. In one circumstance, 1. North Waziristan as they were settling into an evening meal. In another, a 6. 8- year- old grandmother was killed by a Hellfire missile as she harvested vegetables from her family's farm. Amnesty International said that one attack it investigated may also be a war crime. On July 6, 2. 01. U. S. It also makes it difficult to determine how many people have been killed by drones. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that 4. Pakistan, while the Pakistani government says the number is between 4. The United States says information on civilian deaths is classified. By not acknowledging civilian deaths or releasing details of the strikes, the U. S. Many are afraid to speak out against the strikes because they fear that would associate them with terrorists in the eyes of the U. S. Human Rights Watch's report on Yemen, where the drone program is less prevalent, came to many of the same conclusions that the Amnesty International report did. Both say the U. S. Obama Says Drone Strike Program Raises Legal, Moral Complexities. Drone Attacks Jihadists, Jihad, Drone Attacks, Drone Program, US Drone Attacks, Pakistan, Pakistan Drone Attacks. I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on. Pakistan drone strike relative loses GCHQ court case. Judges say case would involve 'sitting in judgment' on US and block move by Noor. The United States has drastically scaled back the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan and limited strikes to high-value targets in response to growing criticism of the program in this country. Pakistan Drone Program BeganBoth groups say the international community should condemn the drone program in its current state and push the U. S. According to the Obama administration and some experts, only so much can be revealed about the program without jeopardizing national security. Dunlap, a former Air Force major general and now a professor at Duke University, told Al Jazeera. That's because adversaries go to school when any information is released. But nothing has come of that speech so far.
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