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1 Aug, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Is Congressional oversight tough enough on drones?

Dianne Feinstein (centre) and members of the Senate intelligence committee grill John Brennan (Photo: SenRockefeller via Flickr) In the Bureau’s latest investigation into the tactic of ‘double-tap’ strikes on rescuers, our field researcher’s findings appear to directly contradict an account of a strike attributed to staffers of the Congressional bodies charged with overseeing CIA drone […]
25 Jul, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

US officials attack ‘far from authoritative’ leaked drone report

A Pakistani soldier in FATA, where there have been 370 CIA drone strikes. (Photo: Chris Woods) US officials are claiming that an internal Pakistani assessment of civilian deaths from US drone strikes – obtained and published in full by the Bureau –  is ‘far from authoritative.’ The secret document was obtained by the Bureau from […]
1 Jul, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Six-month update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

In May, President Obama admitted for the first time US drones have caused civilian casualties in the covert drone war (Image: Peter Souza/White House). Bureau data suggests the CIA is killing fewer people in each strike in Pakistan. Lack of official transparency means it remains unclear who is carrying out strikes in Yemen. No reports of US […]
3 Jun, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

May 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

A US drone crashed in al Shabaab-controlled southern Somalia this month (Photo: Twitter) The Pakistan Taliban’s deputy commander is killed in a CIA drone strike A CIA drone attack in Yemen kills four, reportedly including a senior leader in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula The Pentagon admits a US surveillance drone has crashed in Somalia Pakistan May […]
24 May, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

White House briefings lay out new drone rulebook – but questions remain

Clarity from the White House (Photo: Michael Baird/ Flickr) Two of the most controversial aspects of the US covert drone campaign – CIA control of strikes in Pakistan, and the use of so-called signature strikes – look set to continue until at least 2014, papers released by the White House indicate. In the wake of […]
23 May, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Obama frames covert drone war as necessary evil

 Barack Obama at a recent meeting of the National Security Council. (Pete Souza/ White House) Barack Obama has made it clear that the US will continue with its controversial targeted killing programme. In a major speech the US president also announced that he has signed into force a new – and secret – rule book for […]
2 May, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

April 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

An armed Reaper sits on the apron at Nellis Air Force Base. (cclark395/Flickr) Two CIA strikes kill at least eight in Pakistan, including an al Qaeda commander. US drone strikes return to Yemen after an 85-day pause. Militants launch one of their most well organised and deadly attacks to date, on a court house in […]
18 Apr, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Letter to Obama on targeted killings

Ten human rights and civil liberties groups have written an open letter to President Obama raising concerns over targeted killings and the use of drones. Here is the text in full:
18 Apr, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Red Cross chief urges caution over covert drones

ICRC president Peter Maurer urged ‘very restrained’ use of drones (Photo: Thierry Gassmann / www.icrc.org) The president of the humanitarian organisation International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) this week warned of the organisation’s concerns over drones being used in situations that are not official armed conflicts. Peter Maurer made the comments following a four-day trip to […]
11 Apr, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Secret US documents show Brennan’s ‘no civilian drone deaths’ claim was false

John Brennan being sworn in as CIA director in March 2013. (White House/ David Lienemann) US intelligence officials were aware that at least one civilian had died in drone strikes in Pakistan during 2011, despite claims to the contrary made by the man now running the Central Intelligence Agency. In June 2011, John Brennan, at […]
2 Apr, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

March 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

An armed Reaper waits on the ramp in Afghanistan (US Air Force). Two strikes hit Pakistan, ending a month-long pause between attacks. There were no reported US drone strikes in Yemen in March, marking the longest pause between covert attacks in three years. No strikes were again recorded in Somalia. Pakistan March 2013 actions Total CIA […]
15 Mar, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Pakistan government says ‘at least 400 civilians’ killed in drone strikes

The Pakistani government denied it secretly consents to strikes. (Photo: stephenpend) The Pakistani government estimates at least 400 civilians have been killed in drone strikes – a figure close to the Bureau’s own findings. In evidence to  Ben Emmerson QC, UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism,  the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that CIA drones […]
1 Mar, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

February 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

John Brennan – leading proponent of the drone programme and the CIA’s director-designate (C-Span). CIA drones kill two alleged al Qaeda commanders in two strikes on Pakistan. US operations drop to zero in Yemen a year after President Saleh was ousted from power. No operations reported in Somalia. Pakistan February 2013 actions Total CIA strikes […]
27 Feb, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

No evidence Congressional committee does ‘utmost’ to follow up drone civilian death claims

Are Congressional oversight bodies really doing their ‘utmost’? (Photo L’ennnui/ Flickr) Claims by a powerful Senate oversight committee that it is doing its ‘utmost’ to verify claims of civilian casualties from covert US drone strikes have been undermined by the discovery that it has made no contact with any group conducting field studies into civilian […]
8 Feb, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Incoming CIA boss says covert drone strikes are ‘last resort’

Brennan talks with Obama in the president’s private dining room, 2010 (Photo: White House) John Brennan, the incoming director of the Central Intelligence Agency, told US senators last night that the CIA does not carry out covert drone strikes ‘to punish terrorists for past transgressions’. He insisted instead that they are only used ‘as a […]
1 Feb, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

January 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

A fully armed Reaper taxis before a mission (US Air Force – Sgt Brian Ferguson). In Pakistan a heavy CIA drone campaign targeted both so-called ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban. Three senior militants were among the dead. Yemen was hit by the highest number of airstrikes in one month since June 2012, though none have been formally confirmed as US operations. […]
24 Jan, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

UN launches major investigation into civilian drone deaths

Ben Emmerson QC addresses reporters in London (Photo: TBIJ) A UN investigation into the legality and casualties of drone strikes has been formally launched, with a leading human rights lawyer revealing the team that will carry out the inquiry. The announcement came as the latest reported US drone strike in Yemen was said to have […]
9 Jan, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

New questions over CIA nominee Brennan’s denial of civilian drone deaths

Obama’s CIA choice. But Brennan civilian death claims raise issues. (White House/ Pete Souza) Claims by the Central Intelligence Agency’s new director-designate that the US intelligence services received ‘no information’ about any civilians killed by US drones in the year prior to June 2011 do not appear to bear scrutiny. John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee […]
3 Jan, 2013
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Emerging from the shadows: US covert drone strikes in 2012

An MQ-9 Reaper at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada (USAF/Lance Cheung) Reported civilian deaths fell sharply in Pakistan in 2012, with Bureau data suggesting that a minimum of 2.5% of those reported killed were civilians – compared with more than 14% in 2011. This suggests the CIA is seeking to limit non-militant casualties, perhaps as a […]
6 Dec, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

UK parliament to investigate drones

A Reaper drone at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan (Photo: Ministry of Defence) The British parliament will examine the use of drones as part of an overarching inquiry into the future of the UK’s armed forces. The defence select committee – a panel of 12 politicians led by James Arbuthnot MP – has published its programme of […]
4 Dec, 2012
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Revealed: US and Britain launched 1,200 drone strikes in recent wars

An MQ-9 Reaper returns to Kandahar from an Afghan mission. (USAF/Tech Sgt Chad Chisholm) Recent conflicts in Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq have seen almost 1,200 drone strikes over the past five years, according to new data released to the Bureau. The information, much of it classified until now, shows that US Air Force drones carried […]
3 Dec, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

November 2012 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

A US Reaper taxis at Kandahar Airbase, Afghanistan (ChuckHolton/Flickr). Pakistan: CIA drone strikes return to Pakistan after a 36 day pause, as Washington sets out to codify its covert drone strikes policy. Yemen: A strike nine miles from Sanaa targets a Yemen army colonel and alleged militant. But his family and others question why he was not […]
3 Nov, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

‘OK, fine. Shoot him.’ Four words that heralded a decade of secret US drone killings

Predator drones increasingly a museum piece thanks to more lethal models (Justinpickard/ Flickr) The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually gets all the credit for the first US drone targeted killing beyond the conventional battlefield. But it was the military which gave the final go-ahead to kill on November 3 2002. Lt General Michael DeLong was […]
1 Nov, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Analysis: How Washington Post strips casualties from covert drone data

The Washington Post: is it telling the whole story? Alongside the Washington Post’s latest blockbuster reports on the Obama administration’s drone kill list is a new graphic, depicting US covert strikes since 2002. Based on studies by monitoring organisations, the graphic lists hundreds of US drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, in what the […]
1 Nov, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

October 2012 update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

A new squadron of armed Reapers will soon be remotely operated from the UK (Photo: RAF) Pakistan: Reported casualties from CIA drone strikes in Pakistan double this month compared with September. Agency targets include a North Waziristan madrassa, killing at least 16. Yemen: Thirteen named militants are among those killed in Yemen, with US operations continuing below their […]
25 Oct, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

GCHQ intel sharing for drone strikes may be ‘accessory to murder’

In the loop? Officers at GCHQ have reportedly shared Taliban commanders’ locations with the CIA (Photo: Ministry of Defence UK intelligence officers may be assisting in murder or war crimes by sharing information with the CIA that leads to deaths in Pakistan drone strikes, a London court heard this week. Pakistani tribesman Noor Khan, whose father […]
25 Oct, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

UN team to investigate civilian drone deaths

London-based UN expert says Geneva unit will investigate civilian drone deaths The United Nations plans to set up a special investigation unit examining claims of civilian deaths in individual US covert drone strikes. UN investigators have been critical of US ‘extrajudicial executions’ since they began in 2002. The new Geneva-based unit will also look at the legality of […]
18 Oct, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

UK parliament launches group to focus on drones

Under scrutiny: The Watchkeeper surveillance drone, on its maiden UK flight. (Photo: Defence Images) Members of parliament Tom Watson and Zac Goldsmith are to lead a new parliamentary group set up to scrutinise the rapid spread of drones both on the battlefield and in civilian life. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones launched yesterday, with […]
1 Oct, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

September 2012 update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

A US Reaper drone on the tarmac at Creech, Nevada – achesonblog/Flickr Pakistan: CIA drone strikes pause for a short period as Muslims protest around the world against a US-made video. A senior al Qaeda leader is killed in resumed strikes. Yemen: Eleven named civilians die in a strike in central Yemen, the worst civilian tally since May. […]
30 Sep, 2012
Update
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Obama risks handing ‘loaded gun’ drone programme to Romney

Obama ‘in thrall to the technological potential of drones’ says Columbia Law School author (Photo: spirit of America/Shutterstock). President Obama’s personal involvement in selecting the targets of covert drone strikes means he risks effectively handing a ‘loaded gun’ to Mitt Romney come November, says the co-author of a new report aimed at US policymakers. ‘If […]