Obama Has Not Delivered on May's Promise of Transparency on Drones

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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/17-1


"When the president acknowledges four deaths of US citizens, but not 4,000 deaths of non-Americans," writes the author, "he signals to the world a callous and discriminatory disregard for human life." (Photo: ACLU file)

The past two weeks have seen an escalation in drone strikes more dramatic than any since 2009.

The media estimate that more than 37 people have died in a series of strikes in Yemen. The US government has refused to officially acknowledge the strikes surge or reports of potentially unlawful deaths – just as it did, for years, refuse to confirm reports of the more than 300 drone strikes in Pakistan. On drones, secrecy is business as usual – and it carries on.

Earlier this summer, however, there was hope for a different way forward. In late May, the White House released more information about US drone strikes than it ever had before. Following a major address on national security by President Obama, the government pledged to keep sharing "as much information as possible".

In fact, since May, the White House has not officially released any new information on drone strikes (though leaks still abound). While NSA surveillance has taken center-stage, the government's policy of secrecy and obfuscation on drones persists, too. Past critics of the drone program – ranging from Senator Rand Paul (Republican, Kentucky) to Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) – should take notice. It is time to renew and expand the demand for answers about who is being killed.

[markpkessinger]

1. K&R! n/t