UN Should Class US Raids and Drone Strikes as War Crimes

Rasa - It is welcome news to hear that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing the Trump administration to obtain documents about the January raid in Yemen that ended with many civilians dead. But documents are never enough.

News ID: 429556

Date: 10 May 2017 - 21:17

RNA - The international civil society, the United Nations in particular, should also join in and seek international accountability as civilians are still being killed by the US military in the name of “War on Terror” in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and beyond.

We all know how the Trump White House and the Pentagon regime officials call their drone strikes and bungled operations a "success" despite the fact that they authorize them without sufficient intelligence, ground support, adequate backup preparations, or even UN authorization. We also know how easy it is to dispute their claims that few civilians are being killed. Here, even one innocent civilian killed is one too many. As maintained by Human Rights Watch, international aid agencies, and several journalists, the death tolls from bungled US raids and drone attacks in the Middle East could be in their thousands.

Little wonder the ACLU says it wants records on the legal basis for the Yemen raids and the assessment of civilian deaths afterward. The group has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Departments of Defense, Justice, and State in March, and asked on Monday, May 8, a federal court to enforce it.

The ACLU says, "We have seen that this White House cannot be trusted to give the public accurate information, which is especially critical when the president authorizes military action that kills civilians. The Obama administration also had a poor transparency record about lethal strikes in Yemen…”

It’s a reminder that the international civil society has a right to know about any exceptions the Trump administration is making to civilian protection rules generally and what really happens with their illegal operations and drone warfare specifically. The Trump administration's explanations have little credibility, and the documents ACLU and other human rights organizations seek are essential for international accountability.

As is, many civilians are still being killed in the name of America’s “War on Terror.” US officials responsible for these bungled raids and secret CIA drone campaigns have committed, and continue to commit, war crimes and crimes against humanity. They should stand trial because they have broken international laws designed to protect civilians. As maintained by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, “America’s missile and drone strikes contravene the laws of armed conflict, and must end.”

Some might argue that getting to the bottom of individual strikes is exceptionally difficult in places like Yemen and Syria. It’s not. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both mounted a major effort to investigate tens of the many attacks the US has carried out against civilian areas. All those interviewed by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch strongly deny any of the men, women and children killed had been involved in militancy. Even if they were members of a banned group, that would not be enough to justify killing their women and children.

The world community has serious concerns as these attacks violate the prohibition of the arbitrary deprivation of life and constitute war crimes or extrajudicial executions. The world community calls for those responsible to stand trial, particularly those who are exploiting the lawless and remote nature of the Syrian and Yemeni regions to evade accountability for their violations.

The world community also rejects the "global war doctrine" that apparently allows the US to attack any suspected terrorist anywhere in the world. To accept such a policy would be to endorse unlawful US practices that fundamentally undermine crucial human rights protections that have been painstakingly developed over more than a century of international law-making.

No doubt consecutive US governments have never been clear about their views on the legal basis for their bogus “War on Terror” and drone campaigns.  For instance, they never say whether the drone program is a part of the ongoing war against ISIL and Al-Qaeda, or is it somehow a separate counterterrorism effort outside the law of armed conflict with no particular rules and policies.? They also never explain whether the law of armed conflict applies to drone strikes that take place in Yemen and Syria.

These relevant legal questions determine beyond any doubt that America’s “War on Terror” is bogus, only designed to protect its own illicit interests; its drone warfare is illegal because it is not authorized by the United Nations; and its drone strikes are illegally and indiscriminately killing civilians, and must be classed as war crimes. Evaluating the legality of these strikes must begin at the UN with an understanding of how the law of armed conflict applies - not how the US administration views its applicability. The more serious questions raised by the use of drones are their illegality rather than their effectiveness.

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