Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

The drone memos : targeted killing, secrecy, and the law / edited and introduced by Jameel Jaffer.

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : The New Press, 2016Description: 328 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781620972595 (hardback)
  • 162097259X (hardback)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction -- Chekhov's drones -- "The tight leash" -- Secrecy, and the fiction of it -- Law without limits -- A note from the editor -- The documents. February 19, 2010, Office of Legal Counsel memorandum, "Lethal operation against Shaykh Anwar Aulaqi xxxxxxxxxxxx " -- July 16, 2010, Office of Legal Counsel memorandum, "Applicability of federal criminal laws and the constitution to contemplated lethal operations against Shaykh Anwar al-Aulaqi" -- March 10, 2011, remarks of Harold Hongju Koh at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law, "the Obama administration and international law" -- May 25, 2011, Justice Department white paper, "Legality of a lethal operation by the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Central Intelligence Agency against a U.S. citizen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, " -- September 16, 2011, remarks of John O. Brennan at Harvard Law School, "Strengthening our security by adhering to our values and laws" -- November 8, 2011, Justice Department white paper, "Lawfulness of a lethal operation directed against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa'ida or an associated force" -- March 5, 2012, remarks of Eric Holder at Northwestern University School of Law -- April 30, 2012, remarks of John O. Brennan at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, "The ethics and efficacy of the President's counterterrorism strategy" -- May 22, 2013, letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to Hon. Patrick J. Leahy -- May 22, 2013, Presidential policy guidance -- May 23, 2013, fact sheet, "U.S. policy standards and procedures for the use of force in counterterrorism operations outside the United States and areas of active hostilities" -- May 23, 2013, remarks of Barack Obama at the National Defense University -- April 4, 2016, remarks of Brian Egan at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law, "International law, legal diplomacy -- And the counter-ISILcampaign".
Summary: "The Drone Memos is a groundbreaking volume that collects and explains the legal documents underlying the Obama administration's hugely controversial program of remote-control assassination. Jameel Jaffer led the ACLU legal team that sued for the release of these documents. In The Drone Memos, he compiles the legal memos, white papers, and government speeches that, taken together, ratified and even expanded the Bush administration's "war on terror." These documents are now key precedents, and they will be debated inside and outside the United States for years to come. In a powerful introduction, Jaffer contextualizes and explains the memos and connects the legal abstractions to the real-world violence being perpetrated in our names. The memos, he argues, place astonishingly broad power in the hands of future presidents--power that the Constitution never envisioned, and that will almost certainly be abused"-- Provided by publisher.
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 344.7305 D786 Available 33111008526754
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"A trenchant summation" and analysis of the legal rationales behind the US drone policy of targeted killing of suspected terrorists, including US citizens ( Publishers Weekly , starred review).

In the long response to 9/11, the US government initiated a deeply controversial policy of "targeted killing"--the extrajudicial execution of suspected terrorists and militants, typically via drones. A remarkable effort was made to legitimize this practice; one that most human rights experts agree is illegal and that the United States has historically condemned.

In The Drone Memos , civil rights lawyer Jameel Jaffer presents and assesses the legal memos and policy documents that enabled the Obama administration to put this program into action. In a lucid and provocative introduction, Jaffer, who led the ACLU legal team that secured the release of many of the documents, evaluates the drone memos in light of domestic and international law. He connects the documents' legal abstractions to the real-world violence they allow, and makes the case that we are trading core principles of democracy and human rights for the illusion of security.

"A careful study of a secretive counterterrorism infrastructure capable of sustaining endless, orderless war, this book is profoundly necessary." --Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-328).

Introduction -- Chekhov's drones -- "The tight leash" -- Secrecy, and the fiction of it -- Law without limits -- A note from the editor -- The documents. February 19, 2010, Office of Legal Counsel memorandum, "Lethal operation against Shaykh Anwar Aulaqi xxxxxxxxxxxx " -- July 16, 2010, Office of Legal Counsel memorandum, "Applicability of federal criminal laws and the constitution to contemplated lethal operations against Shaykh Anwar al-Aulaqi" -- March 10, 2011, remarks of Harold Hongju Koh at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law, "the Obama administration and international law" -- May 25, 2011, Justice Department white paper, "Legality of a lethal operation by the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Central Intelligence Agency against a U.S. citizen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, " -- September 16, 2011, remarks of John O. Brennan at Harvard Law School, "Strengthening our security by adhering to our values and laws" -- November 8, 2011, Justice Department white paper, "Lawfulness of a lethal operation directed against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa'ida or an associated force" -- March 5, 2012, remarks of Eric Holder at Northwestern University School of Law -- April 30, 2012, remarks of John O. Brennan at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, "The ethics and efficacy of the President's counterterrorism strategy" -- May 22, 2013, letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to Hon. Patrick J. Leahy -- May 22, 2013, Presidential policy guidance -- May 23, 2013, fact sheet, "U.S. policy standards and procedures for the use of force in counterterrorism operations outside the United States and areas of active hostilities" -- May 23, 2013, remarks of Barack Obama at the National Defense University -- April 4, 2016, remarks of Brian Egan at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law, "International law, legal diplomacy -- And the counter-ISILcampaign".

"The Drone Memos is a groundbreaking volume that collects and explains the legal documents underlying the Obama administration's hugely controversial program of remote-control assassination. Jameel Jaffer led the ACLU legal team that sued for the release of these documents. In The Drone Memos, he compiles the legal memos, white papers, and government speeches that, taken together, ratified and even expanded the Bush administration's "war on terror." These documents are now key precedents, and they will be debated inside and outside the United States for years to come. In a powerful introduction, Jaffer contextualizes and explains the memos and connects the legal abstractions to the real-world violence being perpetrated in our names. The memos, he argues, place astonishingly broad power in the hands of future presidents--power that the Constitution never envisioned, and that will almost certainly be abused"-- Provided by publisher.

Powered by Koha