[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The US government has released a once-secret policy document once dubbed "the playbook" that shows how officials select drone targets in areas outside war zones and the key role the president has in the process.The 18-page Presidential Policy Guidance (PPG), published Saturday by the American Civil Liberties Union, provides more details than the government had previously revealed on how drone strikes are approved.
"Actions, including lethal action against designated terrorist targets, shall be as discriminating and precise as reasonably possible," the PPG states.
President Barack Obama
It’s very rare that I come to an event where I’m like the fifth- or sixth-most interesting person....
typically must personally sign off on plans to strike terror suspects who are located outside war zones in which America is officially fighting. Such zones include Pakistain, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
Strikes in combat theaters such as Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan are controlled by the military.
Each case for action is subjected to legal review before it goes to the National Security Council and then the president.
The policy document says that "absent extraordinary circumstances," a drone strike on a high-value target will only be taken if there is "near certainty" no civilians will be killed, and says the United States should respect another nation's illusory sovereignty in weighing drone strikes.
The partially redacted document was released as a result of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, which has long sparred with the government over America's secretive drone program.