![]() ![]() On Janua mere three days into his presidency, strikes by Predator drones in the tribal areas of Pakistan destroyed two compounds and killed numerous people, reportedly including a high-value target. Obama did not take long, on assuming office, to begin keeping his promise. There can be no safe haven for al Qaeda terrorists who killed thousands of Americans and threaten our homeland today.” “I would be clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not take out al Qaeda leadership when we have actionable intelligence about their whereabouts, we will act to protect the American people. ![]() Indeed, while he criticized President Bush for being too aggressive in many aspects of counterterrorism, with respect to targeted killings, his criticism was the polar opposite: “The Bush administration has not acted aggressively enough to go after al Qaeda’s leadership,” he said. “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will,” he said in another speech. “You know,” he said in his speech at the Democratic National Convention, “John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow Bin Laden to the Gates of Hell, but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.” That he would, as president, follow bin Laden to his cave, with or without the cooperation of the Pakistani government, he made perfectly clear. John McCain, in his enthusiasm for the use of targeted strikes in Pakistan against al Qaeda figures. During the campaign, he openly sought to one-up the Republican nominee, Sen. ![]() It is a slight exaggeration to say that Barack Obama is the first president in American history to have run in part on a political platform of targeted killings-but not much of one. The following is part of the Series on Counterterrorism and American Statutory Law, a joint project of the Brookings Institution, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the Hoover Institution ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |