US discloses more conditions for lethal drone strikes

The redacted 18-page version of the 2013 Presidential Policy Guidance (PPG was made public on Saturday along with other Department of Defense papers), outlining the rules of engagement of targeted killings and the capture of terrorist suspects overseas, under the freedom of information lawsuit filed past year, by the American Civil Liberties Union. The disclosure comes as the administration has vastly expanded the targeted-killing program, but until recently has refused to acknowledge its existence or answer questions about how targets are chosen. “Our counterterrorism actions are effective and legal, and their legitimacy is best demonstrated by making public more information about these actions as well as setting clear standards for other nations to follow”.

The White House has released a redacted copy of the so-called drone strike “handbook”, which outlines United States policies on unmanned aerial vehicles, just three years after President Obama promised to make the covert program more transparent.

“We welcome the release of these documents and particularly the release of the Presidential Policy Guidance that has supplied the policy framework for the drone campaign since May 2013”, said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer in a statement.

Obama pledged in 2013 to provide greater transparency about counter-terrorism operations, including drone strikes overseas, amid calls by some U.S. lawmakers and rights groups for more openness.

The document provides a window into the shadowy drone program. He said the documents provide new details about policy standards and insights into the process for targeting individuals with lethal force or for capture.

It also describes how the USA military and intelligence agencies collaborate to review the top-secret evidence against alleged militant leaders, referred to as “high value terrorists”, or HVTs, and assess the consequences of operations in what’s called “after action reports”.

“The conditions precedent for any operation, which shall include at a minimum …”

Each case for action is subjected to legal review before it goes to the National Security Council and then the president.

The policy document, known as the President Policy Guidance, or PPG, says counterterrorism operations, including lethal action against designated terrorist targets, “shall be discriminating and precise as reasonably possible” and says “direct action” against “high value targets” “will be taken only when there is near certainty that the individual being targeted is, in fact, the lawful target and located at the place where the action will occur”.

If the target is a US citizen, the guidelines state, the Justice Department must weigh in to determine whether the strike is legal. Over the years the drone use has come under much criticism for killing numerous civilians in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

He added that “near certainty” that the target is present, and that non-combatants will not be killed, was the “highest standard we can set”.

In 2013, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said information he had gathered indicated U.S. drone strikes had killed 4,700 people.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in February said the Justice Department needed to release the document, which outlines the government’s guidelines for carrying out drone strikes. It also receives written assessments of the results of each strike.

It was an unprecedented admission.

It lays out what it says are safeguards to minimize civilian deaths and errant strikes while preserving the capability to take quick action with drone attacks and other means. In the same time span, the administration said between 2,372 and 2,581 militants had been killed by drones.