Drones are touted as the most precise and humane weapons platform in the history of warfare. The technological advance is significant, but covert drone strikes carry costs for civilians and local communities. This report is the first systematic study of the US government’s covert drone program and its objective was to critically assess US government procedures and standards for ensuring civilian protection and responding to civilian harm from drone strikes conducted both outside of full-scale military operations and with a degree of secrecy. The study is based on a review of publicly available materials, interviews with current and former government officials, responses to requests for information from agencies, and previous field interviews by Center for Civilians in Conflict.
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Selected Press Coverage
"President Obama's dangerous drone legacy," USA Today
"Not Even the White House Knows the Drones' Body Count," Wired Danger Room
"Obama risks handing 'loaded gun' drone programme to Romney," Bureau of Investigative Journalism
"Lure of Drone Technnology Must Not Blind Defence to its Faults," Sydney Morning Herald/National Times
"The Drone Unknowns," Mother Jones
"Human Cost of Drones," HuffPost Live
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