A recent investigation by the New York Times (NYT) has once again brought to the fore the tragic and inhumane killings of civilians by US drone strikes, which could amount to war crimes. A trove of newly obtained confidential documents covering more than 1,300 reports show that the US air wars in the Middle East led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, including children which, according to the documents, were the results of "deeply flawed intelligence." We condemn such unwarranted killings, which do nothing for the security of the US; on the contrary, such acts increase resentment among the people of the nations who have been victims of the West's imperialistic wars fought under the guise of the War on Terror.

The report further revealed that none of the incidents of civilian killings have managed to make the US government see any evidence of wrongdoing, or take disciplinary actions against any US personnel responsible for such deaths. Even though many of these incidents were previously reported, the NYT investigation showed that the number of civilian deaths had been "drastically undercounted" by at least several hundreds. It is hard to believe that this was the result of an accident or error. One event covered in the report, for example, showed that a drone strike, which had allegedly killed 85 Islamic State fighters, had actually led to the deaths of 120 farmers and other villagers.

According to a spokesperson for the US Central Command, even with the best technology in the world, mistakes do happen, and they are trying to learn from them. Given, however, that the US has yet to take any action against anyone responsible for the thousands of deaths caused by its drone strikes, it is difficult to see how that can be true. Moreover, the only person who has been punished in regards to US drone strikes is whistleblower Daniel Hale, who leaked documents to The Intercept detailing how, between January 2012 and February 2013, nearly 90 percent of those killed by such aerial strikes were not the intended targets, but civilian bystanders, who were nonetheless classified as "enemies killed in action." Such actions by the US, which claims to be the premier upholder of human rights in the world, is truly deplorable.

Through its aerial warfare, not only has the US killed thousands of civilians of other nations—which could amount to war crimes, according to many experts and human rights organisations—but it has continually destabilised other regions, particularly the Middle East. Therefore, it is time for the US to end the bombardment of other nations using unmanned aircraft, which also dehumanises its pilots. The international community, too, has a role to play here, as it needs to come together and ban the wholesale use of such killing machines by all nations.