The contours of America’s counterterrorism strategy against al Qaeda and the Islamic State have remained remarkably consistent over the past two decades, broadly focused on degrading al Qaeda’s and the Islamic State’s external attack capabilities and global networks, disrupting their operations through military operations or enhanced law enforcement and border security, and denying them sanctuaries.… Continue reading Managing the Terrorism Threat with Drones
Category: Remote Targeting/Targeted Killing
Endless War Challenges Analysis of Drone Strike Effectiveness
Whether counterterrorism drone strikes are effective is one of the major questions currently facing US policymakers. The objectives offered as justifications for these strikes are arguably vague and over-broad and therefore run the risk of taking on an endless character. David Sterman argues that “endlessness” is a hazard that has not been appropriately addressed by… Continue reading Endless War Challenges Analysis of Drone Strike Effectiveness
Drone Strike—Analyzing Public Perceptions of Legitimacy
Paul Lushenko considers how Mitt Regan’s book Drone Strike: Analyzing the Impacts of Targeted Killing [see also Regan’s article in this volume] informs the national security community’s understanding of the public’s perceptions of legitimate drone strikes. Lushenko explains that Regan, in evaluating the effectiveness of the post-9/11 US drone program, raises an important question about the implications of public… Continue reading Drone Strike—Analyzing Public Perceptions of Legitimacy