Obama bombed civilians and gave no warning. Or that one t...
“Obama bombed civilians and gave no warning. Or that one time when he bombed A TEENAGE BOY out of threat he would “have revenge.” Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, I was wrong Jordan he wasn’t 18 HE WAS 16 YEARS OLD!”
Summary
Obama’s drone program resulted in civilian casualties, with the administration acknowledging 64‑116 non‑combatant deaths and independent groups estimating far higher numbers. Abdulrahman al‑Awlaki was indeed 16 years old when a U.S. drone strike killed him, not 18. The strike was justified as a counter‑terrorism measure targeting his father’s network, not as an act of personal revenge.
Sources 60 searched
- Report of child's death in US raid in Yemen sparks anger - BBC News
The strike was said to have been personally ordered by President Obama. Two weeks after the strike, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman - also an American citizen - was killed by another US drone.
- US cited controversial law in decision to kill American citizen by drone | Anwar al-Awlaki | The Guardian
Court documents reveal Obama administration cited law blessing global war against al-Qaida in killing of Anwar al-Awlaki
- How the US justifies drone strikes: targeted killing, secrecy and the law | US military | The Guardian
An early strike in Yemen, albeit one carried out with cruise missiles rather than drones, killed two families, including as many as 21 children – and, according to the New York Times, “left behind a trail of cluster bombs that subsequently killed more innocents.” By the end of President Obama’s first term, American strikes had killed several thousand people in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, including many hundreds of civilian bystanders. The deaths of innocents raised sharp moral questions, and the moral questions gave urgency to the legal ones. Early in 2010, American media organizations began to report that Anwar al-Awlaki, an American, had been added to “kill lists” maintained by the CIA and JSOC – the US military’s Joint Special Operations Command.
- Killing of Americans Deepens Debate Over Use of Drone Strikes - The New York Times
Obama’s presidency, but that only one had been deliberately targeted. The deliberate target was Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born radical cleric who had fled to Yemen and joined Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
- Opinion | The Secret Death Toll of America’s Drones - The New York Times
Airwars, a university-based monitoring group, estimates that those strikes killed at least 7,500 civilians in those countries. Those disparities show how poorly the American public understands the human cost of an air war fought largely by ...
- Obama reveals how many civilians died in U.S. drone attacks | PBS News
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Friday that between 64 and 116 civilians have been killed by drone and other U.S. strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Africa since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
- Judge dismisses lawsuit over Yemen drone strikes on 3 U.S. citizens | PBS News
"As evidenced by his participation in the Christmas Day attack, Anwar al-Awlaki was able to persuade, direct and wage war against the United States from his location in Yemen, without being present on an official battlefield or in a hot war zone."
- Obama Administration: As Few As 64 Civilians Killed By Drones
The Obama administration disclosed its long-awaited estimate Friday that between 64 and 116 noncombatants were killed in 473 counter terrorist airstrikes since January 2009, but officials pointedly declined to dispute much higher estimates of ...
- Drone Strike That Killed Awlaki 'Did Not Silence Him,' Journalist Says : NPR
The Obama administration justified the killing of an American citizen by arguing that Awlaki posed an imminent threat to the United States. Journalist Scott Shane tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that administration officials felt that Awlaki had ...
This fact check is free and donation-based. $1 powers ~30 fact-checks.
