The BBC is reporting that CIA drone attacks have left 'at least' 21 dead in North Waziristan. The number of dead from the two separate attacks was confirmed by Pakistani security officials.
Pakistan has previously complained that such attacks violate its sovereignty and in fact increase militancy. Last Friday Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said.
"Drones are not only completely illegal and unlawful and have no authorization to be used within the domains of international law but even more importantly, they are counter-productive to the objective of getting this region rid of militancy, and terrorism and extremism."
On February first the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the US government asking for basic — and accurate — information about the government’s targeted killing program.
“Our government’s deliberate and premeditated killing of American terrorism suspects raises profound questions that ought to be the subject of public debate. Unfortunately the Obama administration has released very little information about the practice — its official position is that the targeted killing program is a state secret — and some of the information it has released has been misleading.
Our suit overlaps with the one recently filed by The New York Times insofar as it seeks the legal memos on which the targeted killing program is based. But our suit is broader. We’re seeking, in addition to the legal memos, the government’s evidentiary basis for strikes that killed three Americans in Yemen in the fall of 2011. We’re also seeking information about the process by which the administration adds Americans to secret government “kill lists.” We think it’s crucial that the administration release the legal memos, but we don’t think the memos alone will allow the public to evaluate the lawfulness and wisdom of the program.”
More on drones here.
More on Pakistan here.
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