US drone war kills up to 168 children in Pakistan: report

[salmakh84]

11th August 2011 | Ramazan 10, 1432

Tribesmen sit with Sadaullah Khan (C), a man from Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, who says he lost both legs in a drone strike on his house last year. – Reuters Photo


ISLAMABAD: America’s covert drone war on al Qaeda and the Taliban has killed up to 168 children in Pakistan over the last seven years, according to an independent study released Thursday.

The London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism said its research showed there had been many more CIA attacks on alleged militant targets, leading to far more deaths than previously reported.

It said 291 CIA drone strikes had taken place in Pakistan since 2004, eight percent more than previously reported, and that under President Barack Obama there had been 236 strikes — one every four days.

The Bureau said most of the 2,292 to 2,863 people reported to have died were low-ranking militants, but that only 126 fighters had been named.

It said it had credible reports of at least 385 civilians and a possible upper limit of 775 civilians being killed. It said there were reports of at least 164 children being killed and possibly up to 168.

Washington does not confirm Predator drone attacks, but US officials privately describe the program as vital in the fight against Islamist militants and say that the strikes are accurate, limiting any collateral damage.

“Civilian casualties do seem to have declined in the past year. Yet the Bureau still found credible evidence of at least 45 civilians killed in some 10 strikes in this time,” said the Bureau’s report.

The most recently reported civilian fatality was a migrant worker on leave from Dubai who was killed on July 12 when the CIA attacked a car carrying eight alleged militants, according to the Bureau’s researchers in Waziristan.

On Wednesday, Pakistani security officials said up to 21 Afghan fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, considered the top US foe in eastern Afghanistan, were killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan.

Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt where the drone strikes are carried out is off limits to independent access by journalists and aid workers.

Source: US drone war kills up to 168 children in Pakistan: report | | DAWN.COM

 

[Tshering22]

The terrible cost of wars...and the sin for these deaths will go against these terror bodies who claim to disrupt peace and calm in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

 

[fd24]

America will be cursed by the relatives of the innocents. Why do our leaders value pakistani lives as so cheap.

 

[Ulysses]

If we do nothing, these terrorist groups will roam freely and keep attacking us...

What do you want us to do?

Before 9/11 we been targeted and attacked several times.... we can only take so much I pray this conflict will end soon, and I PRAY people learn not to attack us.

To stay on topic... we thank the ISI for providing us these targets.... it's very unfortunate that these cowards hide within innocent civilians.....

God bless

 

[Burger Boy]

If we do nothing, these terrorist groups will roam freely and keep attacking us...

What do you want us to do?

Before 9/11 we been targeted and attacked several times.... we can only take so much I pray this conflict will end soon, and I PRAY people learn not to attack us.

To stay on topic... we thank the ISI for providing us these targets.... it's very unfortunate that these cowards hide within innocent civilians.....

God bless

What did Afghanistan have to do with 9/11?

 

[fd24]

If we do nothing, these terrorist groups will roam freely and keep attacking us...

What do you want us to do?

Before 9/11 we been targeted and attacked several times.... we can only take so much I pray this conflict will end soon, and I PRAY people learn not to attack us.

To stay on topic... we thank the ISI for providing us these targets.... it's very unfortunate that these cowards hide within innocent civilians.....

God bless

Who supplied these terrorists at the beginning? Look at history. The USA found it prudent to arm these guys and then after their sell by date moved on and labelled them terrorists. They should have not arm these people at the start.

 

[Respect4Respect01]

If we do nothing, these terrorist groups will roam freely and keep attacking us...

What do you want us to do?

Before 9/11 we been targeted and attacked several times.... we can only take so much I pray this conflict will end soon, and I PRAY people learn not to attack us.

To stay on topic... we thank the ISI for providing us these targets.... it's very unfortunate that these cowards hide within innocent civilians.....

God bless

YOU WANT TO KILL OUR CHILDREN TO SAVE YOUR OWN PPL YOU HYPOCRITES.

your war is total lie, they said Iraq had WMD, but they didnt, then why did they kill hundreds of thousands ppl? who is responsible for their deaths?

they care about 2000 americans who died in 9/11, but they dont care about over 200,000 ppl they killed including children who could barely walk yet.

effin hypocrites.

 

[Patriot]

I am truly saddened but i think we can't blame the Americans fully because we also are at fault somewhat.We should never let tribal provide shelter to Taliban fighters under the grab of Pashtunwali code.Now however if you think we should do that and support such things and Tribal Elders are proud people etc then drone attacks will continue so we either totally cut of our country from Afghan Conflict or face this sort of damage until Americans withdraw..There is no such thing as morality in international relations.The same US which talks about human rights have probably violated far more human rights then any one else minus Nazis.So both sides at blame here.

 

[|| |\| ||)) || /\\ |\|]

Washington (CNN) -- A senior U.S. official is dismissing a report that says covert American drone strikes in Pakistan have killed 385 civilians, nearly half of them children, saying the findings by the London-based Bureau for Investigative Journalism are faulty and uncorroborated.

The response by the official late Thursday follows a report released this week by the nonprofit group, which includes British and Pakistani journalists, that found CIA covert drone strikes since 2004 killed at least 2,292 people.

Of those killed in the strikes, the group said it had credible reports of at least 385 civilians, including 160 children.

"The numbers cited by this organization are way off the mark," the official told CNN. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the drone program.

Since 2001, according to the official, an estimated 2,000 militants and 50 civilians have been killed in strikes. Since May 2010, the strikes have killed 600 militants, the official said.

"In that same period of time, we can't confirm any noncombatant casualties," the official said.

Those figures echo similar ones cited in June by White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan.

American drone strikes in Pakistan have inflamed tensions between the two countries, especially after attacks in which civilians were killed.

A drone strike March 17 reportedly hit a community council meeting in North Waziristan, one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan. It killed 44 people -- mostly civilians, two Pakistani sources have said. That strike prompted protests in Pakistan, and the U.S. temporarily suspended its drone attacks.

U.S. officials rarely discuss publicly the CIA's drone program in Pakistan, though privately, officials have said the covert strikes are legal and an effective tactic in the fights against extremists.

But the allegations by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism spurred reaction from U.S. officials, who are mindful of often violent reaction in the region to allegations of civilian casualties.

The State Department also disputed the group's findings, saying the U.S. goes to "enormous lengths to avoid killing or injuring innocent civilians."

"To that end, President (Barack) Obama has directed that we be exceptionally precise and surgical in addressing the terrorist threat, relying both on rigorous review procedures and all of the technological tools at our disposal to ensure that innocent civilians are protected," said Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman.

"We try to ensure that we only use force against those individuals who threaten us."

The group's findings are published in a 22,000-word database that purports to list details about each individual drone strike, information that it compiled from news reports, researchers and lawyers examining drone attacks and leaked U.S. intelligence reports and diplomatic cables.

Among the group's findings: More than 1,100 people were injured in the 291 drone strikes known to have taken place since 2004.

The group also reported that of the 291 drone attacks, at least 236 have been ordered since Obama was named president. Of the at least 2,292 people reported killed, at least 1,842 were killed in strikes since Obama took office.

Based on a count by CNN's Islamabad bureau, there have been at least 238 drone strikes since 2008 -- with 45 this year, 111 in 2010, 52 in 2009 and at least 30 in 2008.

Brennan, the counterterrorism adviser, has said the Obama administration wants to follow a strategy of drone strikes and targeted raids against terrorists to avoid prolonged wars.

But the senior U.S. official said the research was suspect in part because it relied on information from a questionable source.

"One of the loudest voices claiming all these civilian casualties is a Pakistani lawyer who's pushing a lawsuit to stop operations against some of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet," the official said.

"His evidence, if you can call it that, comes from a press release. His publicity is designed to put targets on the backs of Americans serving in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His agenda is crystal clear."

While the official did not name the Pakistani lawyer, it was believed to be Shahzad Akbar -- who is suing the CIA to stop the drone strikes.

Akbar told CNN on Friday that he met three times with one of the group's journalists, who reached out to him to cross check statistics on drone strikes. He dismissed allegations that his work was suspect.

"My complaint is not against Americans serving in Pakistan and Afghanistan. My concern is that we must have some accountability for civilian deaths," Akbar said.

"I am not saying that drone strikes must stop. My complaint is that you have to be accountable for civilian deaths. There are no checks on how many civilians are killed. This is what concerns me and other Pakistanis who want to end fundamentalism in Pakistan. Civilian deaths in drone strikes are fueling extremism."

Akbar drew the ire of U.S. officials in December when he released the name of the CIA's station chief in Pakistan, part of his campaign to end the drone strikes.

"I didn't do anything wrong by naming the CIA station chief in Islamabad," Akbar told CNN. "I don't care that the Pakistani government gave him consent to come here. They don't have the authority to give them consent."


U.S. denies report alleging drone strikes kill 160 kids in Pakistan - CNN.com

 

[Jango]

Of course they will deny the report, nothing new.

 

[Evil Flare]

my own cousin's son died .. he was 9 or 10 ..

 

[mr42O]

my own cousin's son died .. he was 9 or 10 ..

is that true ? tell what happend

 

[ashokdeiva]

US and NATO should be more catious when they carry out surgical strikes in other country. They blame the tech or the inteligence when their bomb lands on some schools or some ones roof.
This is not acceptable. either US should halt UACV strikes or should make sure there in no civilian casuality.

 

[Sinnerman108]

I am waiting for some people to come on this thread.
The same people who issue lectures at length when ahmedi dies, and etc etc etc.

Why has a muslim's blood become so cheap !

 

[ashokdeiva]

^^^ buddy, no ones blood is cheap. Its the policy makers failuer to ensure that these kind of incidents do not happen. I really see no steps taken by the Pakistani Government to stop these attrocities on its people.
The US has a free hand in doing these bull sh*t activity and the current government does only issue statements. but no action