U.S. Military Changes Drone Rules To Make Targeting Of Civilians Easier

Our brilliant foreign policy with our drones continues!


From the Washington times.

The Pentagon has loosened its guidelines on avoiding civilian casualties during drone strikes, modifying instructions from requiring military personnel to “ensure” civilians are not targeted to encouraging service members to “avoid targeting” civilians.

Human rights groups say such secrecy prevents scrutiny and accountability for civilian casualties. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have released reports focused on Pakistan and Yemen that say the strikes could be illegal and that the U.S. has killed more than 4,700 people, including more than 1,000 civilians.

If you ask me this is a cowardly way to get around the civilian casualties that our government has been inflicting on other nations. It's no wonder so many people in those countries hate the United States.

“Before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured — the highest standard we can set,” President Obama said in a rare acknowledgment of the strikes in May 2013.

Ha. Yeah right.

Here is the link.

It's also a way to start weaseling around domestic targeting, too. You're going to inevitably hit civilians in any domestic drone strikes you might someday want to do, and make no mistake, they will want to do them if things ever deteriorate.

For every terrorist killed in a drone strike i bet you get at least 20 pissed off family members and freinds who become terrorists themselves.

reply to post by solongandgoodnight

“Before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured — the highest standard we can set,” President Obama said in a rare acknowledgment of the strikes in May 2013.

I'm repeating myself here but as long as this # is going on this needs to be repeated:

It's easy not to murder civilians when the Obama administration classifies any able-bodied male a military combatant unless evidence is brought forward to prove otherwise!

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism or the Stanford International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic less than 2% of all victims of every known drone strike in Pakistan since 2004 are high-profile targets. The rest are civilians, children and alleged combatants.

These are warcrimes and will one day be judged as such.


Sources:
Covert Drone War (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)
Living Under Drones (Stanford International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic)


Once more pluggin my thread on the topic: Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
(neat little HTML5 visualization inside)

Well, this is an outstanding way to get innocent people killed. Bad enough the enemy knew what kind and how many human shields needed to be in place to keep them immune from attack...but now they can read how the policy has changed and make arranged massacres of civilians possible by target arrangement they know our side won't turn down.

Has it ever crossed the minds of these idiots....War isn't a boxing match? There aren't published rules both sides follow..and Geneva is a city where people talk too much. It doesn't mean much outside our forces on the battlefield.

I can't help but think policies like this need to be in the Classified category as sensitive information. In fact, I do recall the ROE cards being forbidden material to show across the media in more than one action through the 90's. That made sense....this doesn't. We need our people out of that place. It's sounding more and more like a big sandy tomb that just needs time to close itself...right on our guys.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Well, one thing was for sure - If we were going to go to war there, the only way we were ever going to win was if we were prepared to be more brutal than our adversaries. You can see the tactics that they are prepared to use, so you need to ask yourself how much a victory is needed. We are fully capable of leveling the might needed to defeat them, really pound them into the ground, but if we did so, the world at large would have a whole new view of America.

reply to post by solongandgoodnight


By 2015 the guidelines for domestic drone use will be put on the table, lobbied, voted for and passed, so in order to use examples for the oncoming drone wars in domestic use they will have to base their guidelines of on what is been enforced abroad now.

So the lax the enforced laws now, the better for the enforcement of laws abroad. Because so far the use of drones is now run by the military but soon will be completely in the hands of private interest companies been subcontracted under the government.

Yes, we know that is already been going on and that is no new but laws has not been established yet.

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, was just the beginning for the next step on use of drones in the US privately, but because most private makers of drones see the laws coming soon a done deal they already have been using drones in the US, but under special permits as experimental use only.

Things are going to get really bad very soon for average Americans when they will be inundated after 2015 with drones all over the skies, then things will get worst when drone used by law enforcers will start targeting people and killing them along with the innocent around. Profits will always be over people safety.

let the drone wars begin.

reply to post by ketsuko


You're right. And as someone else mentioned. It's only a matter of time before ADAA is used for suspected domestic terrorism.

Seems like this administration is the little Nepoleon complex picking and picking. So a bigger reaction is warranted, And a big war can be started. But why?

reply to post by marg6043


Makes me worried and queasy in my gut.

reply to post by Bigburgh


No doubt they are here on this sight watching us. Seeing whom will be a threat.

reply to post by Bigburgh


I would be a liar if I said that thought hasn't crossed my mind many times.

reply to post by Bigburgh


I don't want to make things worst but you should read this link on the coming drone wars.

truth-out.org...

When in the nation of for profits a new technology is promising $13.6 billions and create 74,000 jobs within the first three years, you know that is already a done deal

As usual remember in order to know how bad drones will be to the health and well being of Americans they will probably pass the bill and worry about the consequences later or they will pass the bill in order to know what is in it, (sound familiar)

Sadly most of those 74,000 jobs will probably fall under the hands of insourced technicians from foreign countries with work visas in the US that has been trained by tax dollars, so much for helping the American legal worker.

reply to post by marg6043


wow........thanks for making my day worse............this is not going to be good.

reply to post by solongandgoodnight


It never is, specially when profits are the main concern for the government. After 2015 expect Americas skies to be fill with drones all over, probably falling in the heads of unsuspected people.

reply to post by solongandgoodnight


Oh Lordy....

I found this interesting,

Human rights groups say such secrecy prevents scrutiny and accountability for civilian casualties.

There's barely any scrutiny for these drones strikes because the amount of civilians killed is already unforgivable BUT there's certainly NO accountability for the deaths AND destruction either.

Our govt doesn't compensate for the innocents that are killed or for the destruction that's caused and there's definitely no apologies given. Pakistan is a great example of this. The Pakistani govt just accepts the billionish dollars it's receives from the criminal US govt and does not give it the people but keeps it all for itself.

F all world Govts. They're all criminals with more blood on its hands than any mafia, cartel, or gang banger.

reply to post by marg6043


Sometimes you come across stuff on ATS that could just be the regular, way too far out CT-nonesense... but then you take another look and it might just be real. This is one of those times.
There are such weird rumours about this... the whole topic is just sickening!

reply to post by ColCurious


I know, the government have a good way to keep the population as ignorant of certain issues that affect the people the most until is to late to react.

Drones is one of the them, because is already considered in the corporate world as a done deal and something that will be a common thing in Americas skies, sadly they will downplay the impact on the environment and constitutional laws that will be broken.

Just research in the coming drone wars and you will learn a lot more, but I warn you is going to be frustrating and something's will make you angry.