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Pulling from military data collected between mid-2010 and mid-2011 in Afghanistan--the height of U.S. drone attacks there--Larry Lewis, a principal research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses and adviser to the military's Joint Staff, found that the rate of civilian casualties from drone strikes are far more drastic than what the Obama administration has alluded to.
As Spencer Ackerman at the Guardian reports, the findings appear "to undermine the claim made by President Obama in a May speech that 'conventional airpower or missiles are far less precise than drones, and likely to cause more civilian casualties and local outrage.'"
On the contrary, the study finds that drone strikes in Afghanistan were "an order of magnitude more likely to result in civilian casualties per engagement," a fact that directly refutes Obama's justifications for the rampant use of the unmanned bombers.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

Pulling from military data collected between mid-2010 and mid-2011 in Afghanistan--the height of U.S. drone attacks there--Larry Lewis, a principal research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses and adviser to the military's Joint Staff, found that the rate of civilian casualties from drone strikes are far more drastic than what the Obama administration has alluded to.
As Spencer Ackerman at the Guardian reports, the findings appear "to undermine the claim made by President Obama in a May speech that 'conventional airpower or missiles are far less precise than drones, and likely to cause more civilian casualties and local outrage.'"
On the contrary, the study finds that drone strikes in Afghanistan were "an order of magnitude more likely to result in civilian casualties per engagement," a fact that directly refutes Obama's justifications for the rampant use of the unmanned bombers.
_______________________
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

Pulling from military data collected between mid-2010 and mid-2011 in Afghanistan--the height of U.S. drone attacks there--Larry Lewis, a principal research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses and adviser to the military's Joint Staff, found that the rate of civilian casualties from drone strikes are far more drastic than what the Obama administration has alluded to.
As Spencer Ackerman at the Guardian reports, the findings appear "to undermine the claim made by President Obama in a May speech that 'conventional airpower or missiles are far less precise than drones, and likely to cause more civilian casualties and local outrage.'"
On the contrary, the study finds that drone strikes in Afghanistan were "an order of magnitude more likely to result in civilian casualties per engagement," a fact that directly refutes Obama's justifications for the rampant use of the unmanned bombers.
_______________________