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Pakistan drone-attack survivors plan to sue US
Source: Agencies |
December 24, 2010, Friday
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SADAULLAH Wazir says he was relaxing in his front yard when the missile struck, hurling him against the wall and mangling his legs so badly that they had to be amputated. Three of his relatives died. Now the 17-year-old Pakistani and his family want justice from America, which they say was behind the attack.
Detailed accounts by casualties such as Wazir rarely make it outside the tribal regions. He and other tribesmen recently traveled to Islamabad, the capital, to meet with lawyers who are planning to sue the CIA for damages, possibly adding a new layer of scrutiny to the agency's covert war inside Pakistan.
American officials do not acknowledge that war or discuss who is being killed in drone-fired missile attacks on al-Qaida and Taliban targets, which have surged this year. However, they have said privately the strikes are highly precise and harm very few innocents.
But some international law experts are questioning their legality. In June, Philip Alston, the independent United Nations investigator on extrajudicial killings, urged the United States to lay out rules and safeguards, and publish figures on civilian casualties. US officials say the strikes are key to weakening al-Qaida and other militants who mount attacks in Afghanistan.
The drone war is shadowy and rife with ambiguities.
US forces cannot operate in Pakistan the way they do in Afghanistan, so the pilotless aircraft introduced in 2004 are among the few weapons available. The US has never publicly acknowledged killing or wounding a noncombatant, or paid any compensation, and it isn't known whether the US or Pakistan track or investigate civilian deaths.
Detailed accounts by casualties such as Wazir rarely make it outside the tribal regions. He and other tribesmen recently traveled to Islamabad, the capital, to meet with lawyers who are planning to sue the CIA for damages, possibly adding a new layer of scrutiny to the agency's covert war inside Pakistan.
American officials do not acknowledge that war or discuss who is being killed in drone-fired missile attacks on al-Qaida and Taliban targets, which have surged this year. However, they have said privately the strikes are highly precise and harm very few innocents.
But some international law experts are questioning their legality. In June, Philip Alston, the independent United Nations investigator on extrajudicial killings, urged the United States to lay out rules and safeguards, and publish figures on civilian casualties. US officials say the strikes are key to weakening al-Qaida and other militants who mount attacks in Afghanistan.
The drone war is shadowy and rife with ambiguities.
US forces cannot operate in Pakistan the way they do in Afghanistan, so the pilotless aircraft introduced in 2004 are among the few weapons available. The US has never publicly acknowledged killing or wounding a noncombatant, or paid any compensation, and it isn't known whether the US or Pakistan track or investigate civilian deaths.
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