The Guardian reviews Bureau’s work on drones

Obama’s 269th drone strike hit Pakistan as rights groups gather in Washington

The Bureau’s work on the US covert war on terror was highlighted in the Guardian as part of the newspaper’s reporting on a heavyweight conference on drones in Washington.

Senior reporter Chris Woods was speaking at the conference organised by human rights groups the Centre for Constitutional Rights, Code Pink and Reprieve. Woods told the Guardian it was an ‘extraordinary heavyweight gathering’.

The summit brought together leading voices in the drones debate including Shahzad Akhbar the Pakistani lawyer representing drone strike victims. Akhbar was originally denied a visa by the US authorities but they relented at the final hour to allow him to attend the conference. It is hoped the drone summit will bring attention to the US’s secret war being fought in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan.

The two day conference concluded hours after a CIA drone strike became the 269th to hit Pakistan since President Obama took office. It was the 321st strike in Pakistan since the programme began in 2004 and the twelfth of 2012.

The Bureau has been investigating the US Covert War on Terror for more than a year and has exposed details about the CIA’s tactics including the Agency’s attacks on rescuers and funeral goers, which were highlighted in the Guardian article.

The Guardian also reported the latest research into civilian deaths from the Bureau which shows more than 500 civilians have been killed in drone strikes since President Obama took office. More than 60 of them are reportedly children.

Coverage of the US drone attacks in Pakistan is being marred by a disconnection between Pakistani journalists and their American counterparts, Woods told the paper. ‘The American media is doing a bad job of reporting the civilian side of things,’ he said.

He continued: ‘The CIA have been saying there have been no civilian deaths in Pakistan since May 2010. The evidence is overwhelming that this is simply not the case.’ A Bureau investigation in July 2011 uncovered attacks which killed at least 45 civilians.

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