\ncounterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda and its associated
\nforces outside of areas of active hostilities, has specifically
\ntargeted and killed one US citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki<\/i>,\u201d the
\nletter<\/a> reads in part. \u201cThe United States is
\nfurther aware of three other US citizens who have been killed in
\nsuch US counterterrorism operations over that same time
\nperiod<\/i>,\u201d Holder said before naming the other victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese individuals were not specifically targeted by the
\nUnited States<\/i>,\u201d the attorney general wrote.<\/p>\n
The news of the admission broke Wednesday afternoon when New
\nYork Times reporter Charlie Savage published the letter sent from
\nHolder to congressional leaders in a clear attempt to counter
\ncritics who have challenged the White House for falling short of US
\nPresident Barack Obama\u2019s campaign plans of utmost transparency.
\nUpon a growing number of executive branch scandals worsened by the
\nDepartment of Justice\u2019s recently disclosed investigation of
\nAssociated Press journalists, Holder wrote that coming clean is an
\neffort to include the American public in a discussion all too often
\nconducted in the shadows cast by the US intelligence community.<\/p>\n
![\"MQ-1](\"http:\/\/admin.rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/2a\/c0\/00\/011.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe administration is determined to continue these extensive
\noutreach efforts to communicate with the American people<\/i>,\u201d
\ncontinued Holder. \u201cTo this end, the president has directed me to
\ndisclose certain information that until now has been properly
\nclassified. You and other members of your committee have on
\nnumerous occasions expressed a particular interest in the
\nadministration\u2019s use of lethal force against US citizens. In light
\nof this face, I am writing to disclose to you certain information
\nabout the number of US citizens who have been killed by US
\ncounterterrorism operations outside of areas of active
\nhostilities<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter, dated Wednesday, May 22, was addressed to Sen.
\nPatrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and the Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n
Drone strikes have become a signature counterterrorism tool used As part of the vaguely defined \u2018War on Terror,\u2019 the US has But despite growing criticism over escalating use of drones, the \u201cIt\u2019s important for everybody to understand that this thing Others have argued quite the opposite, though, and have opposed
\nby the Obama administration and his predecessor, President George
\nW. Bush, and have been attributed with killing roughly 5,000 persons<\/a> abroad, according
\nto Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). But under the covert and
\nprotective umbrella of the Central Intelligence Agency, little has
\nbeen formally acknowledged from Washington as to the details of
\nthese strikes.<\/p>\n
\nreportedly waged drone strikes outside of Afghanistan where the
\nTaliban once harbored al-Qaeda. In recent years, those strikes have
\ntargeted towns in neighboring Pakistan, as well as Yemen, Somalia
\nand perhaps elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\npresident and his office has remained adamant about defending the
\noperations.<\/p>\n
\nis kept on a very tight leash<\/i>,\u201d Obama said last January, adding
\nthat his administration does not conduct “a whole bunch of
\nstrikes willy-nilly<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthese drone strikes over the lack of due process involved and the
\nhabit of accidently executing civilians in the strikes. When
\nresearchers at Stanford University and New York University
\npublished their \u2018Living Under Drones\u2019 report last September, they
\nfound that roughly 2 percent of drone casualties are of top
\nmilitant leaders. The Pakistani Interior Minister has said that
\naround 80 percent of drone deaths in his country were suffered by
\ncivilians.<\/p>\n
![\"U.S.](\"http:\/\/rss.rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/2a\/c0\/00\/02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n