"Designing Amends for Lawful Civilian Casualties" by Lesley Wexler and Jennifer K. Robbennolt

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Article Title

Designing Amends for Lawful Civilian Casualties

Authors

Lesley Wexler, Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law.
Jennifer K. Robbennolt, Alice Curtis Campbell Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois College of Law

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In January 2015, a U.S.-initiated drone strike in Pakistan accidentally killed U.S. citizen Warren Weinstein and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto. President Obama compensated the families and gave a long speech in which he indicated that he "want[ed] to express our grief and condolences to the families of two hostages." The President justified his declassification and disclosure of this strike "because the [] families deserved to know the truth." He also offered the following mea culpa: "As President and as Commander-in-Chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations . . . . I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States Government, I offer our deepest apologies."

Recommended Citation

Lesley Wexler & Jennifer K. Robbennolt, Designing Amends for Lawful Civilian Casualties, 42 Yale J. Int'l L. (2017).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/yjil/vol42/iss1/3

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