Three
U.S. veterans are supporting Faisal bin Ali Jaber, whose
brother-in-law and nephew were killed in 2012 in a drone strike.
Three former
drone operators backed a lawsuit against the U.S. drone program on
Thursday to push for more accountability in deadly drone strikes.
The case was
filed by Faisal bin Ali Jaber, whose brother-in-law and nephew were
killed in 2012 in a drone strike, the details of which have not been
released. After the strike, Jaber said that he was handed
US$100,000—but that he refused the money and instead demanded an
apology from the U.S.
The
veterans— Cian Westmoreland, Lisa Ling and Brandon Bryant—all
worked on drones for either the Air Force or the Air National Guard.
After a
lower court threw out Jaber’s case, he submitted an appeal last
month, which the veterans supported with a filing that says they
“witnessed a secret, global system without regard for borders,
conducting widespread surveillance with the ability to conduct deadly
targeted killing operations.”
They admit
that the two civilian deaths could have been a mistake, since even
unknown victims are classified as “enemy kills.”
The Obama
administration made a push for transparency by releasing the number
of civilian deaths from drone strikes and publishing the “playbook”
of a top drone operating body, but activists and experts say that the
numbers are severely underreported and that the strike process
remains top secret and immune to scrutiny.
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