{"id":24524,"date":"2013-01-07T14:44:25","date_gmt":"2013-01-07T14:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=24524"},"modified":"2013-01-14T11:45:12","modified_gmt":"2013-01-14T11:45:12","slug":"emerging-from-the-shadows-us-covert-drone-strikes-in-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/01\/emerging-from-the-shadows-us-covert-drone-strikes-in-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Emerging From the Shadows: US Covert Drone Strikes in 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reported civilian deaths fell sharply<\/a>\u00a0in Pakistan in 2012, with Bureau data suggesting that a minimum of 2.5% of those reported killed were civilians \u2013 compared with more than 14% in 2011. This suggests the CIA is seeking to limit non-militant casualties, perhaps as a result of sustained criticism.<\/p>\n

Drone strikes in Pakistan are now at their lowest level in five years, as Islamabad protests almost every attack. The CIA also appears to have abandoned \u2018signature strikes\u2019 on suspected militants fitting certain patterns of behaviour \u2013 at least for the present. Almost all attacks in recent months have been against named al Qaeda and other militant leaders.<\/p>\n

As drone strikes fell in Pakistan they rose steeply in Yemen, as US forces aided a major military campaign to oust al Qaeda and other Islamists from southern cities. A parallel CIA targeted killing programme killed numerous alleged militants, many of them named individuals. Yet US officials took more than three months<\/a> to confirm that American planes or drones had killed 12 civilians.<\/p>\n

Little is still known about US drone strikes in Somalia, with only two credibly reported incidents in 2012. One of those killed was a British-Somali militant, Bilal al-Barjawi.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the US also chose to loosen the bonds of secrecy on its 10-year-old drone targeted killing programme. A number of senior officials went\u00a0on the record<\/a>\u00a0about aspects of the covert war. But details of those killed \u2013 still a highly\u00a0contentious issue<\/a>\u00a0– remain classified.<\/p>\n

The year also saw a number of significant legal challenges to the campaign, most of them ultimately unsuccessful<\/a>.\u00a0 UN experts also announced a study into possible war crimes,<\/a> partly in response to a Bureau\/Sunday Times\u00a0investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A year of drones<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Obama became the first senior US official in eight years openly to discuss the covert drone programme in\u00a0January<\/strong>, telling viewers of a\u00a0Google Town Hall session<\/a>\u00a0that \u2018a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Area], and going after al Qaeda suspects.\u2019<\/p>\n

And he insisted that \u2018actually drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties, for the most part they have been very precise precision strikes against al Qaeda and their affiliates.\u2019<\/p>\n

Days afterwards, the Bureau and the Sunday Times\u00a0published evidence<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0February<\/strong>\u00a0showing that the CIA has deliberately targeted rescuers and funeral-goers in Pakistan, leading to the reported deaths of civilians. The administration has yet to deny the claims \u2013 although one anonymous senior official\u00a0appeared to claim<\/a>\u00a0that the Bureau was \u2018helping al Qaeda.\u2019<\/p>\n

A major covert\u00a0US military offensive<\/a>\u00a0in Yemen began in\u00a0March<\/strong>. Its aim \u2013 in which it was successful \u2013 was to break al Qaeda\u2019s grip on a number of towns and cities in the south of the country. By late spring, drone strikes were occurring more frequently in Yemen than in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

One reason for a decline in Pakistani strikes may have been growing hostility. Some\u00a074% of polled citizens<\/a>\u00a0said they viewed the US as an enemy, and uniquely Pakistan bucked a global trend to register as the only nation favouring\u00a0Mitt Romney for president<\/a>. In contrast, the American public appears to staunchly support covert drones \u2013 in one poll\u00a083% of respondents<\/a>\u00a0were in favour\u00a0of the strikes.<\/p>\n

The British High Court was called on in\u00a0April<\/strong>\u00a0to look into US covert drone strikes and\u00a0possible British co-operation<\/a>, which some lawyers in the UK insist is illegal. Days before the end of the year the High Court declined to investigate. After years of inactivity,\u00a0US<\/a>\u00a0and Pakistani courts also began to consider legal questions surrounding the campaign.<\/p>\n

In one of the biggest news stories of the year, in\u00a0May<\/strong>\u00a0the New York Times revealed that President Obama was\u00a0personally deciding<\/a>\u00a0whether to kill some individuals. The paper also revealed that the administration \u2018counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.\u2019<\/p>\n

As the Bureau noted at the time, \u2018The revelation helps explain the wide variation between\u00a0credible reports of civilian deaths in Pakistan<\/a>\u00a0by the Bureau and others, and the CIA\u2019s claims that it had killed no \u2018non-combatants\u2019 between May 2010 and September 2011 \u2013 and possibly later.\u2019<\/p>\n

In\u00a0June<\/strong>, Washington\u00a0partially declassified<\/a>\u00a0aspects of the secret campaign, with officials openly acknowledging \u2018direct action\u2019 in Yemen and Pakistan. However the CIA\u2019s parallel campaign remains classified \u2013 and Pentagon officials still refuse to release information relating to specific drone strikes.<\/p>\n

CNN found itself in the firing line in\u00a0July<\/strong>\u00a0when it claimed there had been \u2018zero civilian casualties\u2019 from US drone strikes in Pakistan in the first six months of the year. The Atlantic was among a number of publications which attacked the broadcaster for relying on\u00a0error-filled data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of Pakistan\u2019s most senior diplomats told the Bureau and the Guardian in\u00a0August<\/strong>\u00a0that drone strikes were now\u00a0undermining democracy<\/a>. And in\u00a0September<\/strong>, President Obama laid out the\u00a0five rules<\/a>\u00a0he said need to be followed in covert US strikes, as it emerged that US \u2018consent\u2019 for strikes in Pakistan appears to rest on a monthly\u00a0unanswered fax<\/a>.<\/p>\n

October<\/strong>\u00a0saw the publication of a major academic report by\u00a0Columbia Law School<\/a>\u00a0into the reporting of drone strike casualties. Noting the problems all casualty recorders face, the study concluded that only the Bureau appeared to be accurately reflecting reported civilian deaths. An earlier study by\u00a0Stanford and New York universities<\/a>\u00a0reached similar conclusions.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0tenth anniversary\u00a0<\/a>of the first US covert drone strike in\u00a0November<\/strong>\u00a0received little US coverage, coming as it did days before the presidential elections. Both Obama and Mitt Romney had told voters that it would be business as usual if elected.<\/p>\n

And days after the\u00a0300th Pakistan drone strike<\/a>\u00a0of Obama\u2019s presidency, the Bureau exclusively reported in\u00a0December<\/strong>\u00a0on declassified data which showed\u00a01,200 US and British conventional drone strikes<\/a>\u00a0in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.<\/p>\n

Country by country<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pakistan<\/strong><\/a>: The drop in strikes from their 2010 peak continued, and proportionally civilian casualties\u00a0plummeted. Of at least\u00a0246<\/strong>\u00a0people killed in 2012 only 7 were credibly reported as civilians. Last year 68 non-combatants were reported among a minimum of 473 dead.<\/p>\n

Yemen<\/strong><\/a>: After al Qaeda took and held a swathe of land in southern Yemen, the US responded by massively increasing the rate of drone and air strikes. At least\u00a0185<\/strong>\u00a0people were killed. But up to two\u00a0thirds\u00a0of the strikes and casualties exist in\u00a0a limbo of accountability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Somalia<\/strong><\/a>: The US fight in the Horn of Africa is the most secretive in the covert war on terror. There were only two confirmed US strikes in Somalia this year\u00a0despite evidence<\/a>\u00a0that operations are continuing unreported.<\/p>\n

Pakistan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The big story of 2012 was the steep fall in both the number of CIA strikes and casualties in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Attacks resumed on January 10 after a 54-day break, following a Nato airstrike which killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers. Throughout the year prolonged pauses between strikes indicated the vulnerability of the drone campaign to external events.<\/p>\n

In April attacks again halted as Islamabad and Washington haggled over the reopening of supply lines into Afghanistan. There was no halt for the fast of Ramadan, the \u2018month of peace\u2019, as both the CIA and Pakistani Taliban continued their deadly operations.<\/p>\n

Overall there was a significant fall in the number of CIA drone strikes in 2012 \u2013 down two thirds on their peak of 2010. Even more marked was the proportional fall in the numbers of reported civilians killed\u00a0 \u2013 down from an estimated 14% to 2.5% of those killed year-on-year. The majority of non-combatants killed this year were close relatives \u2013 often the wives \u2013 of named militants.<\/p>\n

All CIA strikes in Pakistan 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total strikes:\u00a048<\/strong>
\nTotal reported killed:\u00a0246-397<\/strong>
\nCivilians reported killed:\u00a07-54<\/strong>
\nChildren reported killed:\u00a02<\/strong>
\nTotal reported injured:\u00a0107-167<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pakistan: December 2012 actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total CIA strikes in December:\u00a05<\/strong>
\nTotal killed in strikes in December:\u00a017-28<\/strong>, of whom\u00a01-4\u00a0<\/strong>were reportedly civilians<\/p>\n

All Pakistan actions 2004 \u2013 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total Obama strikes:\u00a0304<\/strong>
\nTotal US strikes since 2004:\u00a0356<\/strong>
\nTotal reported killed:\u00a02,604-3,407<\/strong>
\nCivilians reported killed:\u00a0473-889<\/strong>
\nChildren reported killed:\u00a0176<\/strong>
\nTotal reported injured:\u00a01,259-1,417<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Bureau\u2019s full Pakistan databases click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yemen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Southern Yemen was gripped by a\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0in 2012 as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and allies established their \u2018Islamic Emirates<\/a>\u2018 in the south of the country, exploiting the chaos of a popular uprising to tighten their grip.<\/p>\n

Once entrenched it proved too difficult for Yemen\u2019s army alone to dislodge them. But in February President Ali Abdallah Saleh was overthrown and his replacement Abd Rabbuh Mansur\u00a0Hadi invited the United States to help do the job for him.<\/p>\n

In March the number of airstrikes rose steeply, and the following month the CIA was given permission to launch\u00a0signature strikes<\/a>\u00a0in Yemen. US\u00a0operations peaked in May. Even after militants were driven out the violence continued. A suicide bomber penetrated security in the capital to kill\u00a0100 Yemeni soldiers<\/a>\u00a0and injure at least 200 more, a bloody\u00a0portent of AQAP\u2019s return to guerilla tactics.<\/p>\n

Following the ousting of AQAP from its southern stronghold US operations declined sharply. At present drone attacks are most frequently on named militants in moving vehicles, suggesting an effort by the US to limit the risk of civilian casualties.<\/p>\n

US or Yemeni officials often claim responsibility when senior militants are killed. In contrast there are rarely admissions of responsibility when civilians die in US airstrikes, as between 18 and 58 did in 2012. Only in December \u2013 three months after a dozen civilians died in Rada\u2019a \u2013 did anonymous US officials admit<\/a> that an American drone or plane had carried out an attack.<\/p>\n

Questions have also been asked about how effective US operations are.\u00a0Analyst Gregory Johnsen<\/a>\u00a0has pointed out that AQAP membership had grown steeply since the US began targeting militants in 2009.<\/p>\n

All Yemen actions in 2012<\/b><\/p>\n

Total confirmed US operations:\u00a032-39<\/b>
\nTotal confirmed US drone strikes:\u00a029-36<\/b>
\nPossible additional US operations:\u00a0127-149<\/b>
\nOf which possible additional US drone strikes:\u00a055-69<\/b>
\nTotal reported killed:\u00a0185-705<\/b>
\nTotal civilians killed:\u00a018-58
\n<\/b>Children killed:\u00a03-9<\/b><\/p>\n

Yemen: December 2012 actions<\/b><\/p>\n

Confirmed US drone strikes:\u00a00<\/b>
\nFurther reported\/possible US strike events:\u00a04-7<\/b>
\nTotal reported killed in US operations:\u00a010-14
\n<\/b>Civilians reported killed in US strikes:\u00a00<\/b><\/p>\n

All Yemen actions 2002 \u2013 2012*<\/b><\/p>\n

Total confirmed US operations:\u00a053-63<\/b>
\nTotal confirmed US drone strikes:\u00a042-52<\/b>
\nPossible additional US operations:\u00a0124-143<\/b>
\nOf which possible additional US drone strikes:\u00a066-79<\/b>
\nTotal reported killed:\u00a0362-1,059<\/b>
\nTotal civilians killed:\u00a060-170<\/b>
\nChildren killed:\u00a024-35<\/b><\/p>\n

Click here for the full Yemen data<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

* All but one of these actions have taken place during\u00a0Obama\u2019s presidency. Reports of incidents in Yemen often conflate individual strikes. The range in the total strikes and total drone strikes we have recorded reflects this.<\/i><\/p>\n

Somalia<\/b><\/p>\n

US operations remained largely a mystery throughout 2012. One more confirmed strike was reported this year compared with last. However the Washington Post reported that armed US drones continue to\u00a0fly sorties over Somalia<\/a>\u00a0from a US base in Djibouti.<\/p>\n

And the Bureau learned that as much as\u00a050% of US military and intelligence operations<\/a>\u00a0go unreported in Somalia.\u00a0A UN study said that so many drones were operating over Somalia that several air traffic accidents were narrowly avoided.<\/p>\n

Because of the dangers of reporting from Somalia –\u00a0Reporters Without Borders<\/a>\u00a0says 18 journalists have been killed in Somalia this year\u00a0– there are no trustworthy reports of strikes or casualties.\u00a0Only Iranian broadcaster Press TV consistently reports alleged US strikes. But while\u00a0the Bureau\u00a0monitors\u00a0Press TV<\/a>\u2019s coverage we do not consider\u00a0these reports<\/a>\u00a0reliable, and do not count them in our data.<\/p>\n

In September, Somalia\u2019s first elected government for 20 years was finally installed in the capital, with new\u00a0president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud inaugurated. But days later, al Shabaab suicide bombers tried to assassinate him\u00a0as he gave a press conference with the Kenyan foreign minister, indicating that the country remains in crisis.<\/p>\n

All Somalia actions in 2012<\/b><\/p>\n

Total US operations:\u00a04<\/b>
\nTotal US drone strikes:\u00a02<\/b>\u00a0
\n<\/b>Total reported killed:\u00a011-14
\n<\/b>Civilians reported killed:\u00a00<\/b>
\nChildren reported killed:\u00a00<\/b><\/p>\n

Somalia December 2012 actions<\/b><\/p>\n

Total reported US operations:\u00a00<\/b><\/p>\n

All Somalia actions 2007 \u2013 2012<\/b><\/p>\n

Total US operations:\u00a010-23<\/b>
\nTotal US drone strikes:\u00a03-9
\n<\/b>Total reported killed:\u00a058-170
\n<\/b>Civilians reported killed:\u00a011-57<\/b>
\nChildren reported killed:\u00a01-3<\/b><\/p>\n

Click here for the Bureau\u2019s full data on Somalia.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

___________________________<\/i><\/p>\n

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is an independent not-for-profit organisation. Established in April 2010, the Bureau is the first of its kind in the UK, where philanthropically funded journalism is rare. Our\u00a0team of journalists<\/a>\u00a0bolsters original news by producing high-quality investigations for press and broadcast media with the aim of educating the public and the media on both the realities of today\u2019s world and the value of honest reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n

Please support our work – share this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 thebureauinvestigates.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In one of the biggest news stories of the year, in May [2012] the New York Times revealed that President Obama was personally deciding whether to kill some individuals. He \u2018counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.\u2019 As the Bureau noted at the time, \u2018The revelation helps explain the wide variation between credible reports of civilian deaths in Pakistan by the Bureau and others, and the CIA\u2019s claims that it had killed no \u2018non-combatants.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-militarism","category-anglo-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}