The Prologue to my book No More Wacos: What’s Wrong with Federal Law Enforcement and How to Fix it, includes a section on the Ruby Ridge case. Much more on Waco and Ruby Ridge is available on the Waco page on my website.
Archive | Targeted Killing
Admiral Yamamoto and the Justification of Targeted Killing
The debate over the morality and legality of targeted killing has been rekindled by the death of Osama Bin Laden and shows no sign of stopping. But most of the debaters have overlooked a key point. If it is moral and legal to individually target uniformed enemy military officers, surely the same goes for leaders […]
Judge Dismisses Al-Aulaqi Targeted Killing Case
By Kenneth Anderson on December 7, 2010 11:13 am in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Presswires are reporting that Judge John Bates has dismissed the case which the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights sought to bring on behalf of Anwar Al-Aulaqi’s father, contesting the ability of the President to target an American citizen hiding abroad in Yemen who the government says is a targetable participant in a terrorist […]
A Celebration of 35 Years of Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars
I am privileged this week to be in attendance at a marvelous conference at NYU celebrating the 35th anniversary of Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars, with Professor Walzer himself in attendance, and a host of luminaries among moral philosophy, law, and other fields. I don’t really have internet access at the conference, and the […]
Targeted Killing and Drone Warfare Debate between Mary Ellen O’Connell and Benjamin Wittes
By Kenneth Anderson on October 26, 2010 1:46 pm in Afghanistan, International Law, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Interest in targeted killing and drone warfare is not letting up in intensity – at least to judge by the pace of events on the topic. Right on top of my debate with Notre Dame’s Mary Ellen O’Connell on this at Washington University two weeks ago, Professor O’Connell and the Brookings Institution’s (and Hoover Institution’s) […]
Self Defense and Non-International Armed Conflict in Drone Warfare
By Kenneth Anderson on October 22, 2010 6:31 am in Afghanistan, International Law, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict
Over the past year, I’ve been spending much time on the questions of drone warfare and the legal issues raised – many talks, panel discussions, debates, and so on. In the course of those discussions, as well as discussions with many experts one-on-one, I’ve wanted both to clarify a couple of my views and acknowledge […]
Targeted Killing and Drone Debate at Washington University Law School Today
By Kenneth Anderson on October 8, 2010 12:00 pm in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
(Update: Sorry about leaving off a title! perils of posting from an Ipod!) Today at noon, the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University Law School is holding a debate on targeted killing using drone aircraft. It features Notre Dame’s Mary Ellen O’Connell and yours truly, and moderated by Minnesota Public Radio’s Matt […]
Drone Warfare as Force Protection, and Drones as Strategic Air Power
By Kenneth Anderson on October 2, 2010 6:08 pm in Robotics, Targeted Killing, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Adam Entous, Julan E. Barnes, and Siobhan Gorman have an outstanding piece of national security reporting on the front page of the weekend Wall Street Journal, “CIA Escalates Campaign in Pakistan: Pentagon Diverts Drones to Afghanistan to Bolster Campaign Next Door.” This is a fine piece of journalism that integrates reporting from AfPak and Washington […]
Do You Have Your Own Drone Yet?
Behold, the personal drone, controlled by Ipad, Itouch, Iphone, available on pre-order for later this year from Amazon.
The Washington Post on Targeting Killing and US Citizens
By Kenneth Anderson on September 6, 2010 2:48 pm in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Due to the press of a deadline for something else, I am not able to comment as fully as this all deserves, but I wanted to flag this morning’s editorial in the Washington Post, essentially defending and, in some ways, extending the Obama administration’s position on targeted killing, whether using drones or human teams, including […]
ACLU and CCR Sue US Government over Al-Awlaki Defense
By Kenneth Anderson on August 3, 2010 9:39 pm in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Adam Serwer has a post up flagging a new suit by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) against the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over funds expended over the question of whether the Obama administration can designate and then target Al-Awlaki as a terrorist hiding out presumably in Yemen. […]
Search and Rescue and the Spread of UAVs Through Civilian Uses
Although officially offline and on vacation, I thought I would share one conversation with one of the rangers here in the national park. She remarked that the ranger services – national parks, national forest, etc. – had been watching with great interest the growth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in civilian use. So far this […]
CIA Names New National Clandestine Service Chief
CIA director Leon Panetta has named a new National Clandestine Service chief, reports Peter Finn in the Washington Post today. The new chief, John Bennett, has been serving as station chief in Pakistan, overseeing in particular the expansion of the drone campaign carried out by the CIA there. One may take that as further evidence that […]
Deepening US Special Ops Forces in Pakistan
By Kenneth Anderson on July 20, 2010 11:59 pm in Targeted Killing, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict
Julian Barnes has a good story in today’s Wall Street Journal on the expanding and deepening boots on the ground role of US special operations forces in the Pakistan border region. It is well sourced and reported, and overall points to a deeper cooperation with the Pakistan military. I wanted to flag a couple of […]
This July 4, While Many of Us Give Thanks for the Troops
… and pray for their safety and honor their sacrifices, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for ABC news, Martha Raddatz, delivers herself of the following opinion concerning American fighting forces and drone warfare: Traditionally, when a nation went to war, it had to invest its blood and treasure, but today’s joystick-wielding drone pilots can launch […]