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Journalism of Courage
Questions about the USs drone strikes refuse to go away. More clarity is needed.
On October 29,American legislators will,for the first time,hear testimonies from the civilian victims of a drone attack in Pakistan. Coming as it does in the context of two deeply critical reports released earlier this week,the debate around the US drone programme has been reignited. To say that the Obama administrations policy on surgical bomb strikes conducted via drones,based on intelligence on the locations of al-Qaeda operatives and other terrorists in places like Pakistan and Yemen,has been controversial would be an understatement. Official claims of civilian casualties are viewed with deep suspicion,in part because of statements like current CIA director John Brennans improbable assertion in 2011 that there hasnt been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency,precision of the capabilities that weve been able to develop
Part of the problem is that US claims on the accuracy of its attacks are difficult to verify. The drone programme is shrouded in secrecy and,despite intense pressure,the White House has resisted outlining legal guidelines for when and how drone strikes can be conducted. That military technologies like drones carry a moral hazard is well documented. Its important,then,to put a human face to the costs of waging a virtual war by,for instance,hearing the stories of those affected by such strikes.
