Armed Conflict
Courts & Litigation
Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law
Cybersecurity & Tech
Foreign Relations & International Law
Intelligence
Surveillance & Privacy
Terrorism & Extremism
What's <em>Really</em> Wrong With the Targeted Killing White Paper
There's certainly a lot to say about the DOJ white paper on targeted killings, much of which has been said already (and well) by others (see Raff's "Headlines and Commentary" post for links). At the risk of being unintentionally repetitive, I offer below the fold my own (exasperated) reactions to last night's release--and to the 16-page memo on its own terms:
I.
There's certainly a lot to say about the DOJ white paper on targeted killings, much of which has been said already (and well) by others (see Raff's "Headlines and Commentary" post for links). At the risk of being unintentionally repetitive, I offer below the fold my own (exasperated) reactions to last night's release--and to the 16-page memo on its own terms:
I. These Aren't the [Rationales] You're Looking For...
First, the white paper is thoroughly disappointing. I'm one of the many who have been calling for quite some time now for the Obama Administration to provide the public with a clearer and more detailed legal analysis supporting the various public statements made by, among others, Eric Holder, John Brennan, Harold Koh, and Jeh Johnson, with respect to the targeted killings program.
This ain't it.
Unlike the 2006 wiretapping white paper, which offered a pretty detailed survey of the relevant legal authorities and the government's views of how they did or did not constrain warrantless foreign intelligence surveillance, this white paper is short on detail--which, if nothing else, unintentionally fuels conspiracy theories about the true breadth of the power that the government might actually be claiming behind closed doors. In fact, I have to imagine that the
I. These Aren't the [Rationales] You're Looking For...
First, the white paper is thoroughly disappointing. I'm one of the many who have been calling for quite some time now for the Obama Administration to provide the public with a clearer and more detailed legal analysis supporting the various public statements made by, among others, Eric Holder, John Brennan, Harold Koh, and Jeh Johnson, with respect to the targeted killings program.
This ain't it.
Unlike the 2006 wiretapping white paper, which offered a pretty detailed survey of the relevant legal authorities and the government's views of how they did or did not constrain warrantless foreign intelligence surveillance, this white paper is short on detail--which, if nothing else, unintentionally fuels conspiracy theories about the true breadth of the power that the government might actually be claiming behind closed doors. In fact, I have to imagine that the
Steve Vladeck is a professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law. A 2004 graduate of Yale Law School, Steve clerked for Judge Marsha Berzon on the Ninth Circuit and Judge Rosemary Barkett on the Eleventh Circuit. In addition to serving as a senior editor of the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, Steve is also the co-editor of Aspen Publishers’ leading National Security Law and Counterterrorism Law casebooks.
