To: Terry Maloney who wrote (424476 ) 7/22/2013 8:28:52 PM From: Broken_Clock Read Replies (2) | Respond to Sounds like O gets his rocks offs on drone strikes....New York Times ,[58] one by the Associated Press ,[59] and one byNewsweek reporter and author Daniel Klaidman[60]—revealed the most information to date about how the decision to kill a particular target is made.According to the Associated Press and the New York Times , the President acts as the final decision maker, at least with respect to the decision to carry out “personality strikes” targeting named individuals. According to the New York Times, early in his presidency, “the president tightened standards, aides say: If the agency did not have a ‘near certainty’ that a strike would result in zero civilian deaths, Mr. Obama wanted to decide personally whether to go ahead.” [61] Newsweek reporter Daniel Klaidman noted that, “Obama followed the CIA operations closely” [62] and that he would frequently pull aside CIA director Leon Panetta “and ask for details about particular strikes.” [63] [64] the latter through its Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)—have their own target lists. Those lists are drawn up through independent processes, but significant overlap often exists.[65] The administration claims to have a thorough vetting process by which names are chosen. It is unclear what, if any, process is in place for decisions regarding the so-called “signature strikes,” which are particularly problematic and open to abuse and mistake. [66] These strikes target individuals or groups “who bear characteristics associated with terrorism but whose identities aren’t known.” [67] livingunderdrones.org
