Derek Gregory and Jeremy Crampton both link to the Drone Papers at the Intercept, a new set of leaked materials. Here’s the beginning of Jeremy Scahill’s introduction.
Drones are a tool, not a policy. The policy is assassination. While every president since Gerald Ford has upheld an executive order banning assassinations by U.S. personnel, Congress has avoided legislating the issue or even defining the word “assassination.” This has allowed proponents of the drone wars to rebrand assassinations with more palatable characterizations, such as the term du jour, “targeted killings.
Derek has promised further analysis when time allows.