President Obama did not start America's drone warfare program, but he greatly ramped up the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to strike targeted militants — and, sometimes, people who were not targets. The number of people killed by U.S. drones, intentionally and accidentally, has been a secret, but the Obama administration said Monday that in the next few weeks, it will release data on combatant and noncombatant drone deaths dating back to the beginning of Obama's first term in 2009.
The drone fatality number is expected to include CIA strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, programs once highly classified, but not drone strikes in "areas of active hostilities" like Iraq and Syria, The Wall Street Journal reports. White House Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco announced the new drone policy, explaining the goal was to increase transparency in the U.S. and abroad. "We know that not only is greater transparency the right thing to do, it is the best way to maintain the legitimacy of our counterterrorism actions and the broad support of our allies," she said Monday in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. She added that from now on, drone deaths will be publicly tallied on an annual basis.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd termSpeed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictionsSpeed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto importsSpeed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunderSpeed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ousterSpeed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deporteesspeed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chatSpeed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
