On September 1, the United States government rejected several recommendations from countries which suggested how the U.S. could better uphold human rights. Rejected recommendations included abolishing the death penalty, ending spying on private communications of people of the world, and allowing foreign aid to assist rape victims in war zones who need access to safe abortions.

President Barack Obama’s administration has apparently expanded covert drone operations in Syria in order to strike leaders of the Islamic State. But the expansion is destined to fail as much as previous operations in other countries, which have only fueled the rise of violent extremism.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, would have been Abdulrahman Awlaki’s 20th birthday. Instead, he was killed in 2011, by a CIA drone strike in Yemen, a country which the US had not declared war on. Abdulrahman was not linked to any terrorism-associated activity, never mind charged with an actual crime.