To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Congress: Require Public Reporting on Drone Strikes
Just Foreign Policy
Members of the House should cosponsor, vote for and publicly support H.R.4372, the bipartisan Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act introduced by Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Walter Jones. Senators should introduce and co-sponsor companion legislation in the Senate. President Obama should publicly support this legislation.
Why is this important?
There's been a huge discrepancy between what the government has publicly said about who has been killed by U.S. drone strikes - in particular, how many civilians have been killed - and the record of independent reporting. Because of the secrecy of the program, there's been little accountability for this discrepancy.
Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) have now introduced legislation (1) – the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act – to require an annual report on the number of combatants and civilians killed or injured annually by U.S. drone strikes. The requirement is retroactive for five years. It also requires that the report include the definitions of combatants and civilian noncombatants used. This bill would increase the transparency and accountability of drone strikes, a goal that has been endorsed by President Obama, CIA Director Brennan, and others in the intelligence community. (2)
The Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act has been endorsed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. (3)
Urge your Representative, your Senators, and President Obama to support this legislation by signing our petition.
References:
1. “H.R.4372 - To require the President to make publicly available an annual report on the use of targeted lethal force by remotely-piloted aircraft,”
http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4372/
2. “Reps. Adam Schiff and Walter Jones Introduce Bipartisan Bill Requiring Annual Reporting on Drone Casualties,” April 2, 2014,
http://schiff.house.gov/press-releases/reps-adam-schiff-and-walter-jones-introduce-bipartisan-bill-requiring-annual-reporting-on-drone-casualties/
3. “Joint Statement in Support of The Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act,” April 2, 2014, http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/joint-statement-in-support-of-the-targeted-lethal-force-transparency-act