Weatherman2020
Diamond Member
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Afghanistan war, said in a statement the data had been removed because it was disproportionately focused on the use of weapons by the remotely piloted aircraft as it was published only when strikes were carried out which happened during only 3 percent of sorties. Most missions were for reconnaissance, it said.
U.S. President Barack Obamas administration has increasingly used drones to target against al Qaeda-linked militants overseas.
Civilian casualties from drone strikes have raised ethical concerns and angered local populations, creating tension between the United States and Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Some U.S. lawmakers have also questioned the legality of targeted killings and whether drones would allow the killing of American citizens inside the United States.
The debate was intensified by Obamas decision to nominate his chief counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, an architect of the drone campaign, as the new director of the CIA.
The Air Force Times said air force chiefs had started posting the drone strikes data last October in an attempt to provide more detail on the use of drones in Afghanistan.
The newspaper said the statistics were provided for November through January, but the February summary released on March 7 had a blank spot where the drone data had previously been listed.
A variety of multi-role platforms provide ground commanders in Afghanistan with close air support capabilities, and it was determined that presenting the weapons release data as a whole better reflects the air power provided in Afghanistan, Central Command said in its statement.
U.S. President Barack Obamas administration has increasingly used drones to target against al Qaeda-linked militants overseas.
Civilian casualties from drone strikes have raised ethical concerns and angered local populations, creating tension between the United States and Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Some U.S. lawmakers have also questioned the legality of targeted killings and whether drones would allow the killing of American citizens inside the United States.
The debate was intensified by Obamas decision to nominate his chief counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, an architect of the drone campaign, as the new director of the CIA.
The Air Force Times said air force chiefs had started posting the drone strikes data last October in an attempt to provide more detail on the use of drones in Afghanistan.
The newspaper said the statistics were provided for November through January, but the February summary released on March 7 had a blank spot where the drone data had previously been listed.
A variety of multi-role platforms provide ground commanders in Afghanistan with close air support capabilities, and it was determined that presenting the weapons release data as a whole better reflects the air power provided in Afghanistan, Central Command said in its statement.