EX- DRONE OPERATOR DECRIES US LIES ABOUT CIVILIAN DEATHS

Washington, 1 Rabbiul Awwal 1435/2 January 2014 (MINA) – A former US drone operator, Heather Linebaugh has criticized US and British politicians and military officials for delivering false and misleading statistics about civilian deaths in the US-led drone war worldwide.

On Sunday, Heather Linebaugh slammed the US and British militaries’ drone war in some Muslim countries by raising a number of questions and indicating how difficult it is for drone operators to distinguish militants from civilians.

Linebaugh started her opinion piece by asking, “How many women and children have you seen incinerated by a Hellfire missile?”

“How many men have you seen crawl across a field, trying to make it to the nearest compound for help while bleeding out from severed legs?” she further asked. Press Tv quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Linebaugh also underlined the need for all people around the world to know that US and British officials “deliver faulty information, few or no statistics about civilian deaths.”

Moreover, she questioned the accuracy of the information collected by drones, saying the video provided by a drone is not clear enough to distinguish whether someone is carrying a weapon or a shovel “even on a crystal-clear day with limited cloud and perfect light.”

The US military uses drones in several Muslim countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen. US military officials claim the drones target militants but rights activist and local officials say many civilians are killed in such strikes.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a joint report in October that US officials could be found guilty of war crimes for the secret CIA drone attacks which have killed hundreds of civilians in Yemen and Pakistan.

Also in October, two UN human rights investigators, Ben Emmerson and Christof Heyns, criticized the secrecy around Washington’s drone attacks in countries like Pakistan and Yemen and called for more transparency from the US.(T/P012/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)