(Military Drone/ Wiki Commons)

In his speech on Thursday, President Obama promised more transparency in relation to drone strikes. But stressed that despite the American civilian causalities the drone strikes do in fact save lives. 

“America cannot take strikes wherever we choose,” President Obama said. 

President Obama also said that the civilian deaths will “haunt us as long as we live.” 

From Al Jazeera: 

The speech comes amid growing impatience in Congress with the sweeping authority it gave the president after the September 11, 2001, attacks in light of the targeting of suspected terrorists with lethal drone strikes.

Republicans and Democrats fear that they have given the president a blank check for using military force worldwide.

Shifting the responsibility of some of the drone programme from the Central Intelligence Agency to the military has given Congress greater oversight of the secretive programme and members say they want even more.

Under the draft guidance, the CIA drone programme would remain up and running, to target al-Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas, with US troops drawing down in Afghanistan and concern rising that al-Qaeda might return in greater numbers to the region.

The military and the CIA currently work side by side in Yemen, with the CIA flying its drones over the northern region out of a covert base in Saudi Arabia, and the military flying its unmanned aerial vehicles from Djibouti.

 

Read more on President Obama’s speech here.

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