Drone Killings

Since 2002, the United States has operated a secretive killing program using armed drones and other weapons in multiple countries, far removed from any legitimate battlefields. These so-called targeted killings have left thousands of people dead and injured, including hundreds of children. Three successive administrations have claimed the executive power to order these killings without needing to provide any legal or factual explanation to the public, to most members of Congress, or to the courts. They have destroyed entire families and communities – lost lives the U.S. has mostly not even acknowledged, let alone redressed. As these killings dramatically increased under the Obama administration, CCR was among the first to speak out. Through federal court litigation, international advocacy, and media outreach, we have fought for years to expose and end the illegality, immorality, and harm of this program. While the technology of armed drones is new, unlawful and misguided uses of armed force by the United States is longstanding, and CCR’s opposition to this program is part of our historic resistance to the overuse of American military power.