US military may take over part of CIA drone war
US: President Barack Obama's administration is looking at easing the
secrecy around the drone war against Al-Qaeda by shifting control for
some air strikes from the CIA to the US military, officials say.
But the move would likely not apply to drone attacks in Pakistan,
where most of the bombing raids take place.
And even if the policy change is carried out, Obama has no intention
of abandoning a tactic that his advisers say has decimated the Al-Qaeda
network.
Faced with growing calls in Congress for more oversight around the
drone war, the administration is weighing the change partly to allay
concerns from lawmakers and to put the air campaign on a more permanent
legal footing, analysts said.
“There is serious consideration being given to moving some of these
activities to” military control, a US official, who spoke on condition
of anonymity, told AFP.
The administration believes the strikes are legal and effective but
the change is “about transparency and the perceived legitimacy of the
operations,” the official said.
If the military were to take charge of some drone raids, that would
subject the operations to more public scrutiny as the armed forces must
operate under stricter legal guidelines and answer inquiries at public
hearings in Congress.
Until now, the “targeted killings” with armed drones in Pakistan,
Yemen or Somalia have been carried out under the CIA's authority as
officially designated “covert” attacks, which allow officials to deny
their existence.
But the drone strikes have become an open secret, and lawmakers and
rights advocates have demanded the administration discuss the open-ended
campaign publicly.
“If it's no longer possible with a straight face to deny that we're
conducting these operations, then it makes sense to bring at least some
of them out into the open, where the oversight is easier to conduct,”
said John Nagl, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a
think tank with close ties to the Obama administration.
AFP
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