drone strike

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Drone Reportedly Kills Al-Shabab Bomb Expert

Attack shows US increasingly worried about Somali militants

(Newser) - A United States military strike hit a vehicle carrying senior members of an al-Qaida-linked militant group in Somalia today, killing at least two people. An al-Shabab member who gave his name as Abu Mohamed said one of those killed was al-Shabab's top explosives expert, known as Anta. He said...

Pakistan, Bush Made Secret Drone-Strike Deal

Meanwhile, top-secret CIA documents show Islamabad was kept in the loop

(Newser) - Though Pakistan has often condemned US drone strikes—this week, PM Nawaz Sharif called them an obstacle in the countries' relationship—officials there reportedly signed a secret deal with the Bush administration regarding the attacks. "The exact terms were never shared with civilians, but there was a protocol between...

Amnesty: US Drone Deaths Could Be War Crimes

Hits on Pakistani civilians need to be investigated, group warns

(Newser) - The US should comply with international law and fully investigate reports of civilians killed and wounded by CIA drone strikes in Pakistan, Amnesty International says in a report released today. It provided new details about the alleged victims of such attacks, including a 68-year-old grandmother hit while farming with her...

Raids Indicate Obama Is Souring on Drone Strikes

Official says they were trying to limit civilian casualties

(Newser) - The US' twin raids in Somalia and Libya are a sign that the Obama administration wants to ease off on its controversial drone strikes, and give the military a greater role in fighting terrorists, US officials tell the LA Times . While officials could have used drone-fired missiles to take out...

Al-Qaeda Engineers Take Aim at Drones: Secret File

No real success yet in quest to develop counterdrone strategy

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda has engineers, and those engineers have been handed a mission: Figure out how to mess with American drones. The Washington Post takes a look at the effort, noting right off the bat that there are thus far no indications that al-Qaeda has actually managed to take down or interfere...

US Drones Batter Yemen Some More

34 suspected militants killed since July 27

(Newser) - Amid continuing US concerns over al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the drone death toll in Yemen has reached 34 since July 27, by Yemeni officials' count. Yesterday, a trio of strikes killed 14 suspected militants, the BBC reports. The attacks occurred in Mareb and Hadramout provinces; they all hit cars,...

New Drone Strike in Yemen Kills 4 Linked to al-Qaeda

Two civilians also reported dead as US hits convoy

(Newser) - At least four people linked to al-Qaeda are dead after a US drone strike targeted a two-vehicle convoy in Yemen's Mareb province at dawn today, security officials say. While Reuters reports the drones, seen circling the area after two vehicles went up in flames, killed as many as six...

Why Did America Kill My Teen Grandson?

Nasser al-Awlaki thinks President Obama owes him an explanation

(Newser) - Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was a US citizen. He was also a typical 16-year-old; "he watched The Simpsons, listened to Snoop Dogg, read Harry Potter, and had a Facebook page with many friends," his grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki writes in a New York Times op-ed. In October 2011 he was killed...

Afghan Army Boss: Pakistan Could End War

He accuses neighbor of controlling militants as drone strike kills 17

(Newser) - The Taliban is being controlled by Pakistan and Islamabad could bring fighting in Afghanistan to a halt "in weeks" if it gave the order, the chief of the Afghan National Army tells the BBC . The Taliban's "leadership is in Pakistan," Sher Mohammad Karimi says, accusing Afghanistan'...

CIA Classified 25% of Drone Victims as 'Other'

Agency often didn't know who it was targeting in Pakistan: report

(Newser) - As it pursued suspected terrorists in Pakistan, the CIA wasn't always certain of the identity of those it was killing: Some 25% of those taken out by drones over a span of 14 months beginning in September 2010 were categorized as "other militants," NBC News finds after...

Meet the Pakistani Taliban's New No. 2

Kahn Said takes over for slain Waliur Rehman

(Newser) - The Pakistani Taliban has already filled the vacuum left by yesterday's drone assassination of Waliur Rehman . After burying Rehman in what Reuters describes as a "low-key ceremony" the Taliban committee named a new second-in-command: Kahn Said. (Yes, feel free to make your Star Trek jokes in the comments....

Taliban No. 2 Killed in Drone Strike: Pakistan

Officials condemn North Waziristan attack

(Newser) - A suspected US drone strike assassinated the Pakistani Taliban's No. 2 commander today, according to multiple reports sourced to Pakistani intelligence. Officials tell the AP that their informants on the ground saw Waliur Rehman 's body firsthand, while others say intercepted Taliban communications confirmed the kill. But a...

In Major Shift, Obama Will Clamp Down on Drone Strikes

Will speak today on new counterterror policies

(Newser) - President Obama will today outline a new course against terror, including two big goals: cutting down on drone strikes and attempting, once again, to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. The speech comes after the administration yesterday admitted killing four US citizens with drones. Under new drone rules, strikes on foreign...

US Admits Killing 4 Citizens in Drone Strikes

That includes al-Awlaki, three others

(Newser) - That the US killed American citizens in drone strikes isn't exactly news, but today marks the first time the White House is officially acknowledging it, reports the Washington Post . One day before President Obama gives a speech related to US drone strategy, attorney general Eric Holder sent a letter...

Pakistan OKed Some Drone Strikes in Secret: Musharraf

Contradicts country's previous assertions

(Newser) - In the past, Pakistan has maintained that US drone strikes in the country were carried out without leaders' involvement. Now, former leader Pervez Musharraf says the government approved some of the strikes in secret, CNN reports. Officials gave the go-ahead "only on a few occasions, when a target was...

Obama to Take Drones Out of CIA's Hands: Report

Defense Department will eventually run sole program

(Newser) - A big scoop from the Daily Beast : President Obama is set to eighty-six the CIA's drone program, per three senior US officials. Daniel Klaidman reports that the plan, which the White House is "poised to sign off on," would instead centralize the drone program under the Pentagon;...

Rand Paul Staging Old-School Filibuster

Senator holds up vote on CIA nominee over drone strategy

(Newser) - It's possible the Senate will get a chance to confirm John Brennan as the next CIA chief tomorrow—unless Rand Paul's voice holds out. The Kentucky Republican began a genuine filibuster about 11:45am today, reports USA Today . That is, he's not taking advantage of the modern...

Holder: US Can Kill an American on Home Soil

But in response to hypothetical query, he stresses it's unlikely

(Newser) - Eric Holder says President Obama would be in his rights to order the killing of a US citizen on American soil under rare circumstances, reports Mother Jones . But in a letter to Rand Paul answering Paul's question on the matter, the attorney general stressed it would have to a...

Drones Reduce Civilian Deaths

 Drones Reduce Civilian Deaths 
OPINION
Feb 20, 2013 1:06 PM CST

Drones Reduce Civilian Deaths

They're far better at that than any other military weapon: William Saletan

(Newser) - Critics of the growing use of drone strikes by the Pentagon often point to civilian casualties as an argument against them. Sorry, writes William Saletan at Slate , but drones are far better than any other weapon of war at minimizing the deaths of innocents. What's more, they've gotten...

How This Drone Photo Came to Be

AP photographer explains her now-familiar image

(Newser) - It's become the go-to image for editors everywhere to illustrate stories about US drone strategy: A Predator drone flies over Kandahar's air field with a full moon in the background. (It shows up on Newser a lot, too.) With the image in wide circulation of late, Josh...

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