WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US drone program must come to an end, after leaked documents revealed claims about the program by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have not been true, advocacy group The Upstate New York Coalition to Ground the Drones & End the Wars Binghamton activist Jim Clune told Sputnik.
“Transparency and accountability is obviously necessary for this secretive government agency,” Clune said on Wednesday. “However, it is just a step on the way towards the elimination of the weaponized drone program.”
On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the CIA to turn over details of the US drone warfare program, only a week after startling information of the program emerged in a new leak by an anonymous intelligence source.
“I think it is a good idea that the ACLU is trying to force the CIA to be transparent about weaponized drones,” Clune said. “Shooting Hellfire missiles at villagers in the Middle East and elsewhere is a terrorist activity. “
Between January 2012 and February 2013, US airstrikes killed more than 200 people in Afghanistan who were later tagged as enemies killed in action, but only 35 of the those killed were actually targeted individuals, according to the leaked documents published by The Intercept.
Sputnik contacted the CIA for comment, but the agency declined referred Sputnik to the US Department of Justice, which is yet to comment on the matter.
