Taking a political decision to open up on its secret drone warfare, the Obama administration on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that US counterterrorism operations overseas have killed four Americans since 2009.
The formal admission came in a letter from Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr to the Congress. The letter, however, does not say how the four were killed.
Those killed included Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. The other three killed include Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike; Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan.
“These individuals were not specifically targeted by the United States,” Holder wrote in the letter.
Holder’s formal acknowledgement came on the eve of President Barack Obama’s major speech on Thursday, which seeks to fulfill his promise to make elements of his controversial counterterrorism policies more transparent and accountable to Congress and the American public.
A major American newspaper commented that Obama is also under pressure to explain how he intends to make even modest progress on other priorities that were centerpieces of a pledge he made at the beginning of his first term.
At the top of that list is closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, where 103 of the 166 detainees still in custody are on a hunger strike.
The Washington Post also reported that that the administration is planning to restart the transfer of the detainees, 86 of whom have been cleared to leave. According to the Post, a White House official said without elaboration that Obama “will announce a number of specific steps to advance” his goal of closing the facility.
Meanwhile, an American expert on South Asia and former CIA official, Bruce Riedel said in a commentary ahead of President Obama’s speech that it comes at a particularly awkward time in Pakistan, which, he alleged, still is a center of terrorism.
“Nawaz Sharif has just been elected for an unprecedented third term in a nation extremely unhappy with America’s counterterrorism policies, especially the drone war fought in its skies from bases in Afghanistan.”
President Obama, he noted, faced the challenge of defending his policies and explaining why they were needed.
“He (Obama) must do this without further alienating an angry Pakistan and its newly elected civilian government which is struggling to find its own way to deal with the terror Frankenstein that threatens the world and Pakistan itself. It may be mission impossible,” wrote Riedel, who advised the first Obama administration on counterterrorism policy.
Nawaz, he noted, had pledged to seek a political solution to the violence. “He has campaigned against the drones and faces a national consensus that wants them to end.”
“Obama significantly expanded drone attacks in 2009 and many dangerous terrorists have been eliminated by them. The price has been to further alienate the Pakistani people. His speech this Thursday is not likely to please many in Pakistan,” the analyst feared.
“The already very difficult US-Pakistan bilateral relationship is at a crucial juncture with the first ever transition from one elected Pakistani civilian government to another in the country’s history after a full term in office. Reconciling our counter-terror mission with our interest in promoting democracy in Pakistan will not be easy,” Riedel noted.
