Attorney-General Admits Deaths of Four Americans in Drone Attacks

The Obama Administration has formally admitted killing four of its citizens in authorized drone attacks in Yemen and Pakistan since 2009, according to a letter from US attorney-general Eric Holder.

The letter, which was addressed to congressional leaders on Wednesday, named three US citizens – Samir Khan, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, and his father, Anwar al-Awlaki, the intended target of a drone strike in September 2011.

However, the fourth citizen, Jude Kenan Mohammed, was regarded as a victim of America’s efforts to combat terrorism through drone strikes.

The letter reads, “Since 2009, the United States, in the conduct of US counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda and its associated forces outside of areas of active hostilities, has specifically targeted and killed one US citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki.”

“The decision to target Anwar al-Awlaki was lawful, it was considered and it was just,” he wrote.

“The United States is further aware of three other US citizens who have been killed in such US counterterrorism operations over that same time period,” Holder added, after which he named three citizens.

Holder refused to explain why Jude Mohammed and 16-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki were killed. “These individuals were not specifically targeted by the United States,” he said.

“The administration is determined to continue these extensive outreach efforts to communicate with the American people. To this end, the president has directed me to disclose certain information that until now has been properly classified. You and other members of your committee have on numerous occasions expressed a particular interest in the administration’s use of lethal force against US citizens.”

“In light of this face, I am writing to disclose to you certain information about the number of US citizens who have been killed by US counterterrorism operations outside of areas of active hostilities.”

The letter came just a day before US President Barack Obama was scheduled to deliver a speech on the use of drones, and was addressed to Senator Patrick Leahy and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Apparently, it was released with the purpose of defending the Obama Administration over allegations that it wasn’t holding up to its promise of utmost transparency as Obama’s campaign plans has stated.

Only a few months earlier, Senator Rand Paul led a marathon filibuster in an effort to criticize the drone program of the CIA, demanding the administration stand before lawmakers and justify the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the execution of suspected enemies of the state while turning a blind eye to the innocent civilians killed in the process.

The Boston Marathon Nightmare: Has Terror returned for an encore?

 

 It was a hot Monday afternoon. I just left my bedroom for the sitting room, when I saw a live news feed from CNN of a bombing that had just occurred at a Boston Marathon. I asked myself, who did this? Why? For what purposes?; Has terror returned to the US for an encore?.

The Boston Bombing has left 3 families in great pain and anguish, leaving about 183 people brutally injured and scarred for life. It has put all security agencies in the nation on high alert, and on a manhunt for the ‘Boston Bomber’.

The attacks has brought sad memories of the September 11 attacks, the biggest and most deadly event in the history of America, but the attack that occurred on the 15^th of April, 2013, felt more homegrown as it has closely resembles the 1996 Olympic bombing that killed two and injured many others.

While intense investigation is ongoing into those responsible for the attacks, it has got people wondering if the so-called ‘war on terror’ will ever end; how the perpetuator of this heinous crime will sleep soundly at night, knowing that he has drowned the families of the victims in a sea of endless sorrow, and once again left Americans troubled by the acts of terror in days past.

Martin Richard did not deserve to be robbed of life at a tender age of 8!. He and his family only gathered close to the finish line to watch the Boston Marathon when two bombs went off in succession just off Copley Square. He died instantly.

Krystle Campbell did not deserve to die so horribly. Her grandmother, Lillian Campbell described that late graduate of the 2001 graduating class from Medford High School, Massachusetts as a ‘fun and outgoing person, who was always there to help somebody’.

Although, the third victim has yet to be identified, some passengers on a flight from Boston to Chicago on Tuesday were quick to express their concerns over two Arabic-speaking passengers, who were removed from the plane. Perhaps, they are being security conscious, or it is just another case of Islamophobia very much present.

According to sources inside the investigation unit, the bombs were small, crude in design (tests showed that there were no traces of C-4 or any other high-grade explosive) and apparently placed in a metal pressure cooker hidden inside a backpack. It was likely (not certain) that the bombs were timed, not remotely detonated.

Furthermore, doctors at the Boston Brigham and Women Hospital retrieved objects identical to nails and perfectly round objects slightly larger than ball bearings from victims. This most likely speculates that these objects were planted in the device in order to rapidly disperse them when the bomb went off.

The American public wants answers. The world wants answers. The Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual marathon (dating to 1897) which draws more than 20,000 participants will never be the same again. It may have endured world wars and many other historical events, but as a tradition that marks the Patriots Day (the day of the opening battle of the Revolutionary War), it will forever be scarred with the events of April the 15^th.

Has terror finally returned for an encore?