A predator drone at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. (Photo: US Air Force)
Mar 07, 2016
Critics were quick to question the official narrative after the Pentagon announced Monday that a combination of U.S. drone and air strikes killed 150 "fighters" in Somalia on Saturday.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism called the death toll "unprecedented"--the highest in a U.S. counter-terrorism strike yet recorded anywhere since the group launched in 2010.
The Department of Defense claimed in a press release that the alleged militants were affiliated with al-Shabaab, "which is a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda." It said the fighters "posed an immediate threat" to U.S. and African Union forces in the country.
But experts cautioned against taking the government at its word.
\u201cUS drone strike kills 150 people in Somalia. Pentagon promises all were terrorists, so please look away https://t.co/xNjihlSNz7\u201d— Rania Khalek (@Rania Khalek) 1457373351
\u201c.@PressSec on US strike targeting al-Shabab camp in #Somalia: can't confirm no. of fighters killed or impact on civilians #VOAalert\u201d— Aru Pande (@Aru Pande) 1457376344
Also Monday, a senior White House official pledged to release, for the first time, how many terrorism suspects and civilians the U.S. has killed in drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and other nontraditional battlegrounds since 2009.
"Not only is greater transparency the right thing to do, it is the best way to maintain the legitimacy of our counter-terrorism actions and the broad support of our allies," Barack Obama's counter-terrorism and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.
In November of last year, four former U.S. Air Force drone operators issued a public letter warning that the United States' ongoing targeted killing program has led to civilian casualties and "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."
And last year's "Drone Papers" from The Intercept offered a full picture of the U.S. government's use of lethal force in areas outside of active hostilities, such as Yemen and Somalia, where the United States was not engaged in an armed conflict under the laws of war, as well as in Afghanistan.
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Critics were quick to question the official narrative after the Pentagon announced Monday that a combination of U.S. drone and air strikes killed 150 "fighters" in Somalia on Saturday.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism called the death toll "unprecedented"--the highest in a U.S. counter-terrorism strike yet recorded anywhere since the group launched in 2010.
The Department of Defense claimed in a press release that the alleged militants were affiliated with al-Shabaab, "which is a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda." It said the fighters "posed an immediate threat" to U.S. and African Union forces in the country.
But experts cautioned against taking the government at its word.
\u201cUS drone strike kills 150 people in Somalia. Pentagon promises all were terrorists, so please look away https://t.co/xNjihlSNz7\u201d— Rania Khalek (@Rania Khalek) 1457373351
\u201c.@PressSec on US strike targeting al-Shabab camp in #Somalia: can't confirm no. of fighters killed or impact on civilians #VOAalert\u201d— Aru Pande (@Aru Pande) 1457376344
Also Monday, a senior White House official pledged to release, for the first time, how many terrorism suspects and civilians the U.S. has killed in drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and other nontraditional battlegrounds since 2009.
"Not only is greater transparency the right thing to do, it is the best way to maintain the legitimacy of our counter-terrorism actions and the broad support of our allies," Barack Obama's counter-terrorism and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.
In November of last year, four former U.S. Air Force drone operators issued a public letter warning that the United States' ongoing targeted killing program has led to civilian casualties and "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."
And last year's "Drone Papers" from The Intercept offered a full picture of the U.S. government's use of lethal force in areas outside of active hostilities, such as Yemen and Somalia, where the United States was not engaged in an armed conflict under the laws of war, as well as in Afghanistan.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Critics were quick to question the official narrative after the Pentagon announced Monday that a combination of U.S. drone and air strikes killed 150 "fighters" in Somalia on Saturday.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism called the death toll "unprecedented"--the highest in a U.S. counter-terrorism strike yet recorded anywhere since the group launched in 2010.
The Department of Defense claimed in a press release that the alleged militants were affiliated with al-Shabaab, "which is a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda." It said the fighters "posed an immediate threat" to U.S. and African Union forces in the country.
But experts cautioned against taking the government at its word.
\u201cUS drone strike kills 150 people in Somalia. Pentagon promises all were terrorists, so please look away https://t.co/xNjihlSNz7\u201d— Rania Khalek (@Rania Khalek) 1457373351
\u201c.@PressSec on US strike targeting al-Shabab camp in #Somalia: can't confirm no. of fighters killed or impact on civilians #VOAalert\u201d— Aru Pande (@Aru Pande) 1457376344
Also Monday, a senior White House official pledged to release, for the first time, how many terrorism suspects and civilians the U.S. has killed in drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and other nontraditional battlegrounds since 2009.
"Not only is greater transparency the right thing to do, it is the best way to maintain the legitimacy of our counter-terrorism actions and the broad support of our allies," Barack Obama's counter-terrorism and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.
In November of last year, four former U.S. Air Force drone operators issued a public letter warning that the United States' ongoing targeted killing program has led to civilian casualties and "is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."
And last year's "Drone Papers" from The Intercept offered a full picture of the U.S. government's use of lethal force in areas outside of active hostilities, such as Yemen and Somalia, where the United States was not engaged in an armed conflict under the laws of war, as well as in Afghanistan.
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