= MURDER President Barack Obama announced in May 2013 that no lethal strike against a terrorist would be authorized without near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured. But amid unconfirmed reports of civilian casualties, the White House said this week that U.S. bombing in Iraq and Syria is not being held to the near-certainty standard. And the Pentagon, hamstrung by limitations in intelligence gathering, has been unable to determine in many cases whether the casualty reports are true. We do take extreme caution and care in the conduct of these missions, Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagons press secretary, said. But theres risk in any military operation. Theres a special kind of risk when you do air operations. When Obama outlined his strategy to fight the Islamic State group earlier this month, he cited as parallels the limited U.S. counterterrorism campaigns in Yemen and Somalia, where American drone missile strikes have targeted al-Qaida-linked militants. Aides said he was also thinking of Pakistan but didnt mention those strikes because drone killings there are entirely the work of an officially unacknowledged CIA operation. But when it comes to civilian casualties, it has become clear that the targeted killing model that Obama has expanded and honed throughout his presidency does not apply to the more intensive military operation against the Islamic State and the Khorasan Group in Iraq and Syria. According to the White House, the reason the near-certainty standard is not applicable turns on a fine point of international law — the theory that the U.S. is not involved in active hostilities in Yemen and Somalia, but is in Syria and Iraq. Such distinctions are controversial, given the frequency with which American bombs and bullets have flown in both countries.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 21:38:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015