Chris Woods

British PM Cameron: ‘We Expect Drone Strikes To Avoid Civilian Casualties’

David Cameron has called for those carrying out covert drone strikes ‘to act in accordance with international law’ and to take ‘all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties.’ However the British prime minister has carefully avoided any direct criticism of the US, Britain’s closest military ally. Cameron’s comments feature in a letter to David Mepham, […]

Chris Woods
By Chris Woods

David Cameron has called for those carrying out covert drone strikes ‘to act in accordance with international law’ and to take ‘all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties.’ However the British prime minister has carefully avoided any direct criticism of the US, Britain’s closest military ally. Cameron’s comments feature in a letter

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Holding The US To Account For Civilian Drone Deaths In Yemen

When news flashed of an airstrike on two cars in the city of Radaa on Sunday afternoon, early claims that ‘al Qaeda militants’ had died soon gave way to a more grisly reality. At least 11 civilianshad been killed, among them women and three children. It was the worst loss of civilian life in Yemen’s brutal internal war since […]

Chris Woods
By Chris Woods
In this Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, an unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

When news flashed of an airstrike on two cars in the city of Radaa on Sunday afternoon, early claims that ‘al Qaeda militants’ had died soon gave way to a more grisly reality. At least 11 civilianshad been killed, among them women and three children. It was the worst loss of civilian life in Yemen’s brutal internal war since May 2012. Somebody had

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August 2012 Update: US Covert Actions In Pakistan, Yemen And Somalia

By Chris Woods and Jack Serle Pakistan: August sees the highest number of CIA strikes in Pakistan since October 2011. A number of senior militants are killed along with at least two named civilians. Yemen: At least 26 people are killed in five confirmed US drone strikes in Yemen. This is still less than the May peak. Civilian […]

Chris Woods
By Chris Woods
A Global Hawk UAV, similar to the one used in an airstrike on Pakistani homes on Feb. 9, 2011 (Photo by Burt Lum)

By Chris Woods and Jack Serle Pakistan: August sees the highest number of CIA strikes in Pakistan since October 2011. A number of senior militants are killed along with at least two named civilians. Yemen: At least 26 people are killed in five confirmed US drone strikes in Yemen. This is still less than the May peak. Civilian casualties are

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‘US Drone Strikes Undermine Pakistani Democracy’ Says Top Diplomat

One of Islamabad’s most senior diplomats has told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that ongoing CIA drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas are weakening democracy, and risk pushing people towards extremist groups. He also claims that some factions of the US government still prefer to work with ‘just one man’ rather than a democratically-elected government, […]

Chris Woods
By Chris Woods
High Commissioner to the UK Mr. Wajid Shamsul Hasan (Photo by Chris Woods)

One of Islamabad’s most senior diplomats has told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that ongoing CIA drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas are weakening democracy, and risk pushing people towards extremist groups. He also claims that some factions of the US government still prefer to work with ‘just one man’ rather than a

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July 2012 update – US Covert Actions In Pakistan, Yemen And Somalia

By Chris Woods and Jack Serle The Bureau’s covert war investigation tracks drone strikes and other US military and paramilitary actions in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Here we summarise our key work and findings for July 2012. Pakistan: CIA drones kill more people in July than any month so far this year after Pakistanreopens its border […]

Chris Woods
Jack Serle
By Chris Woods
And Jack Serle
In this Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, an unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

By Chris Woods and Jack Serle The Bureau’s covert war investigation tracks drone strikes and other US military and paramilitary actions in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Here we summarise our key work and findings for July 2012. Pakistan: CIA drones kill more people in July than any month so far this year after Pakistanreopens its border to Nato

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Analysis: CNN Expert’s Civilian Drone Death Numbers Don’t Add Up

Following recent revelations by the New York Times that all military-aged males in Waziristan are considered fair game by the CIA in its drone strikes, many US journalists have been reassessing how they report on deaths in the attacks. So when CNN’s national security analyst Peter Bergen produced a graph claiming that no civilians have been killed […]

Chris Woods
By Chris Woods
CNN'€™s national security expert Peter Bergen speaking at a recent event (Miller Center/ Flickr)

Following recent revelations by the New York Times that all military-aged males in Waziristan are considered fair game by the CIA in its drone strikes, many US journalists have been reassessing how they report on deaths in the attacks. So when CNN’s national security analyst Peter Bergen produced a graph claiming that no civilians have been

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June Update – US Covert Actions In Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia

The Bureau’s covert war investigation tracks drone strikes and other US military and paramilitary actions in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Here we summarise our key work and findings for June 2012. We also compare the first six months of this year with 2011. An analysis of our data over this period reveals: As relations between […]

Chris Woods
Jack Serle
By Chris Woods
And Jack Serle
An armed US military Reaper drone over Afghanistan. (US Air Force/ Lt Col Lesley Pratt/ Flickr)

The Bureau’s covert war investigation tracks drone strikes and other US military and paramilitary actions in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Here we summarise our key work and findings for June 2012. We also compare the first six months of this year with 2011. An analysis of our data over this period reveals: As relations between Washington and

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