Why has extrajudicial killings become part of US geopolitics against humanity!
Anwar Al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and Al Qaeda propagandist, was the first United States (US) citizen to be killed in a ‘Targeted Killing’ by a US drone strike. He was killed by a Hellfire missile launched from a drone that landed in Yemen on September 30, 2011. Then US president Barack Obama ordered the attack which violated all the legal sections existing in the US constitution. Noteworthy, Al-Awlaki was never found to be charged with any crimes according to the report published in The Intercept. Subsequently, this incident was dubbed as an ‘extrajudicial killing’ by Human Rights activists across the world.
This planned incident resulted in more bloodshed, just two weeks later, with another drone attack that killed Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki, the son of Al-Awlaki. As Abdulrahman was not the main target of the attack, it resulted in the killings of other innocent civilians. The Obama’s administration tried to justify the attack with their own logic and thoughts. Noteworthy, Obama’s press secretary blamed this 16-year-old boy for his death stating that the boy should have had a father who is more responsible, according to The Intercept. Six years later, in 2017, US SEAL Team killed 8-year-old Nawaar Al-Awlaki, the daughter of Al-Awlaki, alongside 30 other innocent civilians in brutal operations in Yemen. Reuters reported that she was shot in the neck, injured severely and suffered for almost two hours. Are these incidents justified by saying that the sin of the father visited upon the kids?
This is just a part of a broad story that flows in the same direction and in the same manner over the year with changing targets in different regions. Another US drone strike, on August 29, 2021, killed ten innocent civilians of one family in Afghanistan. It was targeting an aid worker and his family members which included seven children. Though the US described this cruel incident as a ‘tragic mistake’, there are very few cases where they even acknowledged their mistakes.
The aforementioned planned incidents are some dots of a broader picture of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations by the USA internationally. Citing these sorts of incidents, critics accuse the US, the protector of human rights, of consistently violating human rights and international laws and order situations.
Targeted Killings
No doubt, targeted killing is a clear violation of Human Rights. Making a ‘Kill list’ or ‘Target listing’ is also a violation of fundamental tenants as there are international bindings on this. But the US, the champion of democracy, has been found to breach international laws continuously since 9/11. The killing of Al-Awlaki represents the true face of the US targeted killing. Noteworthy, one Carpenter argued in an article that even if Al-Awlaki was a Propagandist of Al Qaeda, killing him intentionally was illegal since there was no proof of him participating in armed conflict.
Is this the only prohibition the USA has violated?
The drone strike on Qasem Soleimani is another example of a violation of international laws. As a top-tier Irani government official, Soleimani was an internationally protected person. Therefore, killing him is undoubtedly a violation of international laws and order. Apart from international laws, targeted killing is one kind of ‘extrajudicial killings,’ and deprives a person of the ‘right to justice’.
Drone Strike
Is Al-Awlaki’s son the only child killed by the US drone strike? Tariq Aziz, a 16-year-old boy and a soccer player, died in a drone strike in Pakistan last year. The US drone strikes have caused huge havoc and casualties in different parts of the world including Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia etc. A report of the Bureau of Investigative journalism stated that around 174-225 civilians have been killed in different drone strikes in Yemen with total death of almost 1020 to 1389 people since 2004. According to the same report, almost 424-969 civilians were killed with a total death of almost 2500-4000 people in Pakistan which is even worse than Yemen.
The drone attack also has a culture of impunity and does not take any responsibility. There are very few examples where the accused persons were identified or punished or even held responsible for the incidents. Besides, the drone attacks also have a culture of punitive actions targeting mainly the ‘Terrorists’ and their families as a part of ‘retribution’.
Turning Blind Eye
The USA always raise a strong voice for ensuring democracy and protecting human rights on international platforms. But the same country has been found to turn a blind eye when it comes to its friends. Many of the USA’s traditional allies, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, have violated human rights in many cases which include depriving of legal rights, forced disappearance, the killing of internationally protected persons and extrajudicial killing. But the USA has not been found as vocal as it has been in other cases. This partial attitude of the USA makes it clear that the country is actually more concerned about its interest and less about human rights protection.
ICC Sanctions
There are many examples where the USA supports the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC). But the country does not seem to pay the same respect to the ICC’s decision when it comes to its own. Interestingly, the country has been found to impose sanctions on the court. Last year, the US government imposed sanctions on two ICC prosecutors, who were investigating US personnel, and restricted visa issuance for them. This is just one of the very few examples where the USA has shown dual and paradoxical positions on ICC. Doesn’t such an act create obstacles to the fair implementation of legal norms?
In the end, all these incidents of violations of human rights by the USA can be termed as ‘western immorality’. Ayatollah Khamenei once said that “We’re not afraid of sanctions. We’re not afraid of military invasion. What frightens us is the invasion of western immorality.” Slavoj Zizek, a cultural philosopher, also explained this ‘immorality’ in one of his articles on the Afghan context. The analysis showed the questionable role of the USA that violates human rights in the international sphere and explained the country’s tendency to violate international laws when it is all about its own interests. So, as a violator of human rights, the USA is currently not in a place to advise others on protecting human rights. In order to become the ‘true’ Champion of Human Rights, the USA must avoid its duality and paradoxical position on human rights and abide by international rules and regulations.
Writer’s Bio: Ozair Islam is a Bangladeshi NGO worker. He can be reached at ozairislam80@gmail.com