New 28 Page Drone Report: “Wedding That Became a Funeral”, Obama Violates His Own Policy

Before It’s News – by Josey Wales

Remember the day “A deadly US drone strike on a December 2013 wedding procession in Yemen”,  well a new 28 page report  is out, this report raises serious concerns about US forces’ and President Barack Obama’s targeted killing policy, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.  

The 28-page report, “A Wedding That Became a Funeral: US Drone Attack on Marriage Procession in Yemen,” calls on the US government to investigate the strike, publish its findings, and act in the event of wrongdoing. The December 12 attack killed 12 men and wounded at least 15 other people, including the bride. US and Yemeni officials said the dead were members of the armed group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but witnesses and relatives told Human Rights Watch the casualties were civilians. Obama said in a major address in May that US policy requires “near-certainty” that no civilians will be harmed in targeted attacks.

“The US refusal to explain a deadly attack on a marriage procession raises critical questions about the administration’s compliance with its own targeted killing policy,” said Letta Tayler, senior terrorism and counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.”* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

“Rather than instilling confidence that its targeted killings are lawful and adhere to US policy, the Obama administration’s silence is magnifying concerns,” Tayler said. “The US failure to address any harm to civilians also risks turning Yemeni allies into enemies.”

“A Wedding That Became a Funeral: US Drone Attack on Marriage Procession in Yemen” is available at:
http://hrw.org/node/123245

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on US targeted killings, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/topic/counterterrorism/targeted-killings-and-drones

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Yemen, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/yemen