The Trump administration on Tuesday flouted two major deadlines for disclosing the number of civilians killed by U.S. military forces: one public report that was mandated by an Obama-era executive order and focused on drone strike deaths; and one report to Congress that is supposed to detail all civilian deaths tied to U.S. military operations.
Click Here: Cardiff Blues Store
“The Trump administration’s decision not to comply with even the meager transparency requirements of the executive order is a dangerous low,” declared Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.
“It’s unacceptable,” she added, “for the government to simply refuse to release the numbers of people killed, let alone their identities, the rules governing its deadly decisions, or investigations into credibly alleged wrongful killing.”
A White House spokesman told the Washington Post, “The executive order that requires the civilian casualty report is under review,” and may be “modified” or “rescinded,” while a spokesman for the Pentagon said the congressional report is slated to be provided to lawmakers by June 1.
A team of counterterrorism and human rights experts at Just Security put the missed deadlines into context, outlining the broader shifts the administration has made with regard to deadly drone and military operations:
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT