The Obama Administration has done everything in its power to bury its long-awaited report on civilian casualties from illegal, extrajudicial drone strikes by releasing it on the Friday afternoon of a long holiday weekend.
The report likely vastly undercounts civilian casualties, estimating the number at 64 – 116 deaths, while the true figure is probably closer to 1,000 or more deaths. It also institutionalizes drone strikes outside of war zones as “acceptable” US policy.
Obama may have done some good things during his time in office, such as extending healthcare to millions and pushing for somewhat tougher environmental and climate change regulations. He has also certainly done some regrettable things, including supporting disastrous “free” trade agreements such as TPP, not making the 2009 stimulus package large enough for a full economic recovery, and most importantly allowing Wall Street and the big banks off the hook after the financial crisis, which enabled them to resume financial speculation and predatory lending.
We can debate all these things. But on drones, Obama has simply been wrong, militaristic, and callous from the jump. Regardless of whether you think his “heart’s in the right place” or he’s “generally a cool dude,” he bears direct responsibility for these thousands of deaths from drone strikes. To paraphrase Russell Crowe’s iconic line from Gladiator, the President will have to answer for what he’s done, either in this life or the next.
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