U.S. halts reporting of civilian deaths by drone outside war zones
Source: Reuters
POLITICS MARCH 6, 2019 / 4:18 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
U.S. halts reporting of civilian deaths by drone outside war zones
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that revoked an Obama-era policy requiring U.S. intelligence officials to report civilian deaths in drone strikes outside of active war zones.
President Barack Obama put the policy in place in 2016 as part of an effort to be more transparent about drone strikes after he had dramatically increased their use against Islamist militants.
Trumps rescinding of the policy was done with little fanfare. The White House released the text of his executive order.
This action eliminates superfluous reporting requirements, requirements that do not improve government transparency, but rather distract our intelligence professionals from their primary mission, an administration official said.
The Obama policy had required the U.S. director of national intelligence to release by May 1 each year an unclassified summary of the number of strikes undertaken by the United States against militant targets outside areas of active hostilities.
-snip-
Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-drones/u-s-halts-reporting-of-civilian-deaths-by-drone-outside-war-zones-idUSKCN1QN2PD