Designing Amends for Lawful Civilian Casualties

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."