You might just as well say that the drone strikes are the fault of the individual operators. If a private operator does something in their capacity as a government contractor, then that's the government's responsibility.
If a fedex employee runs someone over while drunk, that employee is responsible. The company might also be responsible if they know the employee was drinking on the job.
It’s the same deal here, the company is 100% at fault, the government might also share some responsibility or not depending on the specifics. As to drone operators, “I was only following orders” isn’t a free pass though I was given bad information might be, the government can also be responsible at the same time.
Which isn’t to say these drone operators are going to end up at The Hague, but they and their superiors should at least be invested.
> On December 22, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump granted full presidential pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard.
Did Trump pardon them in his capacity has a private sector businessman?
It doesn't look like these are rogue agents. It looks a lot like the government (and, specifically, the military) is supporting their actions at the highest levels.
They were sent to Iraq by the US military, presumably protected from Iraqi justice by the presence of the US military, and then they were pardoned for their horrific crimes by the head of the US military.
The 'oh they're private contractors, nothing to do with the US military here!' line doesn't really fit.