SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
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.
_______________________
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
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.
_______________________
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.
_______________________