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Obama admits US drone strikes killed civilians
President Barack Obama admitted that “civilians were killed that shouldn’t have been” in past US drone strikes, but added they were now “very cautious” about striking where women or children are present.He said that there was “no doubt” that civilians were killed in drone strikes targeting extremist camps but said that over the last few years, the administration has worked to prevent civilian deaths. Speaking at a news conference at the nuclear security summit in Washington, he said: “In situations of war, you know, we have to take responsibility when we’re not acting appropriately.” Recent drone and other airstrikes against extremist targets have killed large numbers of people. A strike on an Islamic State (IS) group training camp in western Libya in February killed more than 40 people, a drone strike in Somalia against al-Shabab on March 5 killed 150 people and a drone strike in Yemen in February killed dozens. The US came under heavy criticism for a drone strike several years ago against extremists in Yemen, which critics said actually hit a wedding party and killed women and children. In October, an AC-130 gunship mistakenly hit a hospital in Afghanistan that was run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). MSF has demanded that the strike be investigated as a war crime. The Pentagon disciplined several officers and enlisted personnel for their part in the attack. Obama said the US uses “vigorous criteria” to gather intelligence and it is “checked, double-checked, triple-checked before kinetic actions are taken”. He said the US is targeting camps that are clearly “involved in and directing plots that could do the United States harm or are supporting ISIL activities or al-Qaida activities”. Then, he said, “a strike will be taken”. Posted by: Steve White 2016-04-03 |
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