ACLU sues US govt over drones

WASHINGTON (Agencies) The American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government Tuesday to learn the use of unmanned drones for targeted killings by the military and CIA.
In particular, the lawsuit asks for information on when, where and against whom drone strikes can be authorised, the number and rate of civilian casualties and other basic information essential for assessing the wisdom and legality of using armed drones to conduct targeted killings, the ACLU said in a statement, announcing its action.
The nonprofit civil liberties group filed initial Freedom of Information Act requests with the Defence, Justice and State departments and with the Central Intelligence Agency on Jan 13. Only the CIA responded, and the ACLU is pursuing that request with an appeal to the agency.
The military and intelligence communities have increasingly relied on Predator and Reaper unmanned drones to capture video imagery and launch deadly missile strikes, particularly lately in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.
The Pentagon, especially, continues to purchase more and more drones each year.
A New American Foundation study, cited in Jane Mayers October 2009 New Yorker piece that drew attention to the CIAs use of killer drones, found the number of attacks has continued to grow under the Obama administration - from 34 in 2008 to 43 by October of 2009.
The governments use of drones to conduct targeted killings raises complicated questions - not only legal questions, but policy and moral questions as well, said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project. These kinds of questions ought to be discussed and debated publicly, not resolved secretly behind closed doors. While the Obama administration may legitimately withhold intelligence information as well as sensitive information about military strategy, it should disclose basic information about the scope of the drone programme, the legal basis for the programme and the civilian casualties that have resulted from the programme.
Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department, which is a defendant in the suit filed in US District Court in Washington, said he had not yet seen the complaint.
The bottom line is that we will review the compliant once we receive it and make a determination as to how well respond in court, he said.
The Defence Department, another defendant, had no immediate comment.