![]() To account for the full range of possibilities, I used whichever of those two groups’ low estimate was lowest and high estimate was highest. Both organizations use a variety of local and international sources to compile strike and casualty data, offering low and high estimates. ![]() To determine how frequently American drones kill civilians, I used statistics from two non-governmental organizations: New America (based in the United States) and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ, based in the United Kingdom). However, independent estimates suggest a much higher civilian casualty rate, perhaps due to the way the government classifies combatants. Add that to the first report and, according to the Obama administration, civilians made up just 2.27 to 3.73 percent of drone strike deaths. A second report covering 2016 claimed 53 strikes occurred with one civilian casualty, accounting for 0.2 percent of an estimated 431–441 people killed. But everyone already had a good idea.Īs I note in my book Drones and Terrorism, the report claimed 473 drone strikes occurred from 2009 to 2015, with an estimated civilian casualty rate of 2.63 percent to 4.30 percent, substantially lower than independent estimates. When, in the last year of his presidency, Obama ordered the public disclosure of information on casualties resulting from strikes taken outside traditional war zones, it was the first time the United States officially acknowledged the extent of the drone campaign. The drone program, which refers to extrajudicial strikes against suspected terrorists outside of war zones - i.e., Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, rather than Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria - began under George W. (Though the reporting requirement was in place last year, the Trump administration ignored it.) Obama’s official numbers systematically underestimated civilian casualties and did not disclose the location of strikes. Not because criticisms of the drone campaign are unwarranted, but because the statistics the Obama administration generated weren’t especially believable. ![]() This prompted worries: What are they trying to hide? Are they planning something big? Covering up a disaster? As The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf put it, “Trump just gave himself more power to kill in secret.” drone strikes, including civilian casualties. On March 6, without explanation, President Donald Trump revoked an Obama-era rule requiring an annual public report on U.S. ![]()
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