The United States may be drawing down its longest war, but its second longest war seems to have just begun. November 3 will mark the tenth anniversary of the US’s secret war of targeted killing—but according to a three-part series published in the Washington Post last week, US officials have no plans to draw this war down any time soon. [1] [2]
The Post’s description of the program and its de facto head, John O. Brennan, are quite terrifying. A “dispositional matrix” that is said to be in development as a guide for targeting sounds like the title of a bad Hollywood thriller. US officials calling Brennan a “priest-like presence” and lauding his moral depth is not only horrifying, but seems to reflect the frightening moral vacuity of those running the US drone program. [3]
The Post series notes that there is little internal contention over the effectiveness of the drone program. Neither is there any espoused difference between President Obama and Mitt Romney’s views on the matter, as evidenced by Romney’s zealous endorsement of Obama’s drone program during the third presidential debate. [4]
And yet, when pressed, supporters of the US drone program sound inhuman when making their defense. When former White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, was asked recently to justify the killing of Anwar al Awlaki’s 16 year old son—who was a US citizen—in a drone attack two weeks after his father was killed in another US drone strike, Gibbs’ soulless response was to say that the boy shouldn’t have had a terrorist for a father. [5]
Today, polls show that a majority of Americans support US drone strike policy. We’re working to change that. Through education and grassroots organizing, we can turn the tide against current US drone policy, just as the tide turned against the Afghan war.
But we need your help to accomplish this. Donors like you are what keep us going. So consider making another contribution to Just Foreign Policy today. And maybe four years from now, we won’t have to choose between trick or trick when it comes to drone policy.
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Thank you for all you do to help bring about a more just foreign policy,
Megan Iorio, Sarah Burns, Chelsea Mozen and Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
References:
1. “The Long Third War,” Micah Zenko, Foreign Policy, October 30, 2012, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/30/the_long_third_war
2. The first part of the Post’s series on the covert US drone war: “Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill lists,” Greg Miller, Washington Post, October 23, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/plan-for-hunting-terrorists-signals-us-intends-to-keep-adding-names-to-kill-lists/2012/10/23/4789b2ae-18b3-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html
3. “A CIA veteran transforms U.S. counterterrorism policy,” Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, October 24, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-veteran-john-brennan-has-transformed-us-counterterrorism-policy/2012/10/24/318b8eec-1c7c-11e2-ad90-ba5920e56eb3_story.html
4. “Why Didn’t Bob Schieffer Ask Obama A Question On Drones?” Megan Iorio, Just Foreign Policy Blog, October 23, 2012, https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1324
5. You can watch a video clip and read the transcript here: https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1329