Dozens of Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to revamp the military’s drone program following a litany of highly publicized failures in which civilians have been killed.
The group of 11 senators and 39 House members sent a letter to Biden on Thursday arguing that presidents since the turn of the century have “claimed virtually unilateral power to use lethal force around the world and without congressional authorization, killing not only armed actors but also innocent civilians — even American citizens.”
They urged the administration to both “review and overhaul” the military’s counterterrorism policy that they say should be centered on “human rights and the protection of civilians” and “prioritize non-lethal tools to address conflict and fragility, and only use force when it is lawful and as a last resort.”
ZELENSKY ‘DIDN’T SHY AWAY FROM ASKING FOR MORE’ FROM US, SENATOR SAYS
The lawmakers’ letter came a day after the Department of Defense released the video leading up to and of the botched Aug. 29 drone strike in Afghanistan that targeted and killed 10 civilians, including children.
DOD leaders initially declared the strike to be successful and pointed to a secondary explosion as evidence to support their claim that there were explosives in the white Toyota Corolla that they tracked for eight hours before firing the missile. Following an investigation, they announced weeks later that the claim was incorrect and admitted that the target of the strike, Zemari Ahmadi, was an innocent aid worker. He and nine others, many of whom were family members, were killed in the strike.
The Democrats referenced this failed strike as well as the March 18, 2019, strike that killed 80 people in Syria. Central Command could only confirm that among the dead were 16 fighters and four civilians, while the status of the rest remains unknown.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an investigation into the strike, and U.S. Army Forces commander Gen. Michael Garrett was given 90 days to submit the findings of his investigation, which will loosely coincide with the end of February.
Both failed strikes are “emblematic of this systemic failure that has persisted across decades and administrations,” they wrote. “When there is little policy change or accountability for repeated mistakes this grave and this costly, it sends a message throughout the U.S. Armed Forces and the entire U.S. Government that civilian deaths — including deaths where there was no military target– are the inevitable consequence of modern conflict, rather than avoidable and damaging failures of policy.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Democrats’ concerns come as the military plans to rely on over-the-horizon capabilities in Afghanistan. Right before the errant strike, the Taliban overthrew the U.S.-backed government. With the withdrawal coming days later, the U.S. military is planning on utilizing its ability to launch strikes from neighboring areas.
Without having people there to rely on real-time information, there is a larger risk for civilian casualties and other mistakes.
