February 2002: Remote Drone Targeting Bin Laden Kills Three Innocent Civilians Instead

US Central Command watches as a Predator drone captures images of a very tall man being greeted by a small group of people. It is quickly agreed the tall man could be Osama bin Laden, who is known to be tall. Within minutes, approval is given to launch a Hellfire missile from the Predator. By this time, the tall man has broken off from the group with two others. The missile hones in on him and kills him and his two companions. Journalists later report that the men were villagers who had been scavenging in the woods for scrap metal. [New Yorker, 12/16/2002]