Obama on Drones: Silence
Karen DeYoung wonders something I have been wondering.
The Obama administration is still struggling with how to make good on the president’s promise to ensure that its counterterrorism programs, including drone strikes, are “even more transparent to the American people and to the world.”
After President Obama’s pledge in his State of the Union address in mid-February, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told a Senate hearing in early March that the president would publicly address the issue “in a relatively short period of time.”
In the ensuing silence, only one U.S. drone attack has been reported, in Pakistan nearly a month ago.
[snip]
Remarks by Obama and Holder led many to think that the president was preparing to make a major speech on counterterrorism and drones. The president himself, senior administration officials have said, ordered a series of public speeches by Brennan and others in recent years outlining the drone program’s legal framework and the care with which targets are chosen.
The question now is how much more the administration can say without violating secrecy restrictions on its own covert actions.
But she doesn’t consider some of the possible explanations for Obama’s silence.
First, Congress and the public got a look at the Administration’s rationale for killing an American citizen. Not even the NYT’s best efforts could make that look very good. Once I finally get done traveling I plan to lay out some evidence showing that that case is still more fragile than has been made public so far. So at the very least, I would imagine the Administration isn’t going to let the President speak on this until they have a plan in place — perhaps a drone court, perhaps more friendly leaks to the press to pretend there’s more evidence — that will make the case look less shitty.
Then there’s the Administration’s recent FOIA set-back in the courts. While I’m more skeptical than many that this will bring about real disclosures, I do think the Administration is trying to map out a new legal strategy in response to that set-back. And at the very least, the FOIA set-back increases the chance that we’ll get to fact-check whatever Obama says publicly. Which is not how the Most Transparent Administration Evah™ prefers to work; they prefer pure information asymmetry on national security issues, with rampant leaks but no ability to check their rampant leaks.
And finally there are the pictures we’ll get from Mark Mazzetti and Jeremy Scahill’s new books, with Mazzetti’s Way of the Knife officially released tomorrow and Scahill’s Dirty Wars coming out April 23. The public understanding of drones and other counterterrorism programs will likely change significantly with these two books, with not just an enhanced understanding of the quid pro quo murders we committed to be able to drone our own targets, but also the real inefficacy of the drone war generally.
Back when Holder promised a speech from Obama, I think he — and the Administration — had an overconfident belief in their their legal and political stance with drones. That may be changing amid all the silence.
With the ever mounting pile of murdered women, children and other innocents, Adam Lanza failed to meet the standards for CinC. But give the kid credit, it’s hard for a rifle to compete with drones, missiles and cluster bombs.
Throw in chained CPI to leave the old, disabled and veterans twisting slowly in the wind, and in O we have the model of a 21st century Democrat.
High crimes and misdemeanors?
“… Mazzetti’s “Way of the Knife” officially released tomorrow and Scahill’s “Dirty Wars” coming out April 23. The public understanding of drones and other counterterrorism programs will likely change significantly with these two books.”
. . .
Let’s also remember the upcoming ninth anniversary of Pat Tillman’s 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan on April 22nd.
I’m also looking forward to reading both of these books(coincidentally, I mentioned Scahill’s forthcoming book (and DVD) in the email I sent to [email protected] yesterday). I’ve written about “other counterterrorism programs” such as JSOC’s use of torture/EIT’s in my post,“NEVER SHALL I FAIL MY COMRADES”: The Dark Legacy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal & His Memoir “My Share of the Task”: His Betrayal of Pat Tillman, Command of JSOC Torture, and Failed Afghan War “Surge,” posted at the Feral Firefighter blog.
From DemocracyNow:
“New details have emerged on the origins of the CIA drone war in Pakistan. The New York Times reports the Pakistani government agreed to allow the drone attacks in return for the CIA’s assassination of a Pakistani militant who was not even a target of the United States. The militant, Nek Muhammad, was killed by a CIA Predator drone in 2004. Pakistan took credit for the attack under the terms of its agreement with the CIA, which also called for Pakistani approval of all strikes. The major impetus for the CIA’s shift toward killing militants through drone attacks appears to have been its reduced ability to carry out torture and secret detention. The drone program expanded just after a scathing inspector general report put the brakes on the CIA’s torture and extraordinary rendition of foreign prisoners.”
@lefty665:
Remember there is no accountability inside The Beltway—well other than witch hunts against whistle blowers.
O/T but thought you’d be interested as you have written about this previously.
Chiquita sues to block release of documents related to terror group payments
Charlotte, North Carolina – based Chiquita sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking to block the release of documents related to payments the company made to terrorist groups in Colombia to protect its banana-growing interests.
The company paid the Justice Department a $25-million fine in 2007, after admitting that it had given Colombian paramilitary groups the USA classifies as terrorist organizations more than $1.7 million. Chiquita has maintained that it was extorted by the groups and made the payments in an attempt to protect its workers.
But a lawsuit by thousands of Colombians who claim their relatives were killed by the paramilitary groups is still working its way through federal court in Florida. The plaintiffs allege the paramilitary groups helped keep labor unions out of the banana fields and brutalized workers.
The National Security Archive, a research institute affiliated with George Washington University, requested the Chiquita documents in 2008 under the Freedom of Information Act. In 2012, after multiple appeals from Chiquita, the SEC decided to release most of the documents.
In 2007, the National Security Archive published thousands of documents from Chiquita that showed how the company and paramilitary groups had a mutually beneficial relationship.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/04/05/3962238/chiquita-sues-to-block-release.html
O/T but new developments in the case of the US Army veteran Eric Harroun who fought with the Syrian Rebels and was arrested upon his return to the usa. Now he faces LIFE IMPRISONMENT or EVEN THE DEATH PENALTY!!!!! WTF !?!?!?
Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, faces life imprisonment for charges of using a weapon of mass destruction outside the USA. Prosecutors say he joined withan al-Qaeda affiliate fighting against the regime of Syrian President Basharal-Assad.
Harroun is charged with firing rocket-propelled grenades at Syrian troops. A federal judge in Virginia ordered that Harroun must stay in jail while he awaits trial. Harroun’s lawyers asked the judge to take into account the fact that he was fighting with rebels who share the American government’s goal of removing the Syrian president. But federal prosecutors successfully argued against taking any chances since the rebels are a branch of al-Qaeda.
http://www.kjzz.org/content/1304/phoenix-veteran-faces-life-helping-al-qaeda-syria
Ex-US soldier who ‘fought in Syria’ could face execution
A former US soldier who allegedly fought Syrian government forces with a group linked to al-Qaeda could face the death penalty, prosecutors have said.
They told a court that Eric Harroun, 30, could face execution if his actions are found to have caused a death.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22073042
Prosecutors also said for the first time Monday that Harroun could possibly face the death penalty if the government can prove at some point that Harroun’s actions caused a death. Harroun has told the FBI in voluntary interviews that he may have shot 10 people during the course of his fighting in Syria but he was unsure if he actually killed anyone.
During Monday’s detention hearing, public defender Geremy Kamens asked the judge to consider the fact that Harroun was fighting with Syrian rebels who share the US government’s desire to oust al-Assad’s regime.
“It is extremely unusual for the US to charge a person who is fighting in a manner that is aligned with US interests,” Kamens said.
The law under which Harroun is charged applies to U.S. nationals anywhere in the world and does not specify exceptions for those fighting hostile regimes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-judge-orders-army-veteran-accused-in-syria-fighting-to-remain-jailed-pending-trial/2013/04/08/f9856f0c-a071-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html
I think they are hoping there wil be enough other distractions that they can effectively run out the clock i.e. continuing to ignore questions about drones by having the msm press focus on grand bargains and whatnot until their term expires, at which point the next administration will resolutely look forward instead of prosecuting them.
@Arbusto: Yeah I know, but wouldn’t want anyone who just happened to be looking to mistakenly construe that I advocated or condoned inappropriate remedies. Committing war crimes seems to be ok, but agitation to stop them not so ok. Is this a great country or what?
Funny how one killer of innocents is portrayed as a psychotic mass murderer while the other kills many more innocents and is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Don’t expect it makes much difference to the dead, or apparently many Democrats. They get up in arms (figuratively of course) about hi cap magazines, but nary a word about Hellfire missiles and death by joystick from half way around the world.
A quote sometimes attributed to Lincoln might best explain why Obama isn’t actually offering an explanation for the drone program: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”. It is easier to maintain the facade of “secret law” than it would be to wager one’s potential criminal exposure by trying to posit actual legal justification for these murders, especially because when the proposed justification is rejected there’s no defense left for the crime.
@lefty665:
You might want to consider that Democrats are talking about impeachment for various reasons, most of which are different from the reasons that the GOP has.
Hi PJ, Help please, Dems for impeachment? What have I missed?
I see some fuming and venting from the usual suspects, but for the most part Dems seem to be right wing, DLC, Dick Morris toe sucking, Blue cur, Repub lite, Bill & Hill sycophants.
There’s a report today that Dems are recruiting candidates without positions or political experience to run in suburban districts where voters are “fed up with partisan bickering”. Sounds like a party that’s getting ready to stand for even less than it does today, or has for the last 20+ years.
@lefty665:
ah, lefty the troll sttikes again!
lefty, you really are an operative, not your ordinary commenter.
you really are NOT the caring, frustrated dem you like to portray yourself as – that’s evident in your choice of words. your comments are cleverely camoflaged, but ever so slightly off-pitch for a dem – not really outraged, rather, quietly gloating/goading.
lefty the commenter –
the commenter with
the soul of a troll.
@orionATL: Off your meds again Orionaddled?
I am not a Dem and do not pretend to be one.
My wife and I served on Democratic local, state and congressional district committees for nearly a decade, most of the time in leadership positions, and as Democratic congressional campaign staff doing FEC compliance and internal controls. We were no big deal, but we were there day in, day out, active Democrats. We were, and are, committed parts of our political system.
We resigned after working the 2011 local elections. We could no longer defend the indefensible, or tolerate being leaned on to shut up and toe the party line. That has been a huge relief. However, if you believe there is anything to gloat about in politics these days you are profoundly addled, IMHO.
To get back to the point of this blog, yesterday the President made an emotional appeal for gun control legislation “for the children”. Yet he has reportedly ordered strikes that have killed more women, children and other innocents in one strike than Adam Lanza. There have been many strikes.
He has not changed his behavior, as the pictures earlier this week of dead children, killed by a US drone strike, show. As EW documents, neither has he provided a public accounting of his actions.
The Repubs are off in dingbat land, and the Democrats do nothing. Duhbya earned impeachment, and the whole kit and caboodle put in the dock for war crimes. O has in several areas expanded those activities, and arguably knows better. Does that make him somehow less culpable?
We know where the dead women and children are, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen… Where is the outrage? Where are the Dems?
@lefty665:
how does it feel, lefty?
@orionATL: Dylan you ain’t.
“…You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used.
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse.
When you ain’t got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel ?
Aw, how does it feel ?
To be on your own ?
With no direction home ?
Like a complete unknown ?
Like a rolling stone ?”
@lefty665:
a silly, pointless comment, lefty – the signature of a troll.
i was thinking of YOU, lefty. of how you feel when you make thinking/writing errors like this:
“… Funny how one killer of innocents is portrayed as a psychotic mass murderer while the other kills many more innocents and is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Don’t expect it makes much difference to the dead, or apparently many Democrats. They get up in arms (figuratively of course) about hi cap magazines, but nary a word about Hellfire missiles and death by joystick from half way around the world…”
that the president may have made a huge error in judgement regarding drones (i think with you that he did) does not mean he should not work for gun control.
adam lanzer was both mentally deficient by virtue of autism and mentally ill; the president is neither.
obama made a series of very bad decisions about drones, due, i believe, to his phenomenal inexperience and naievete about how washington works.
it does not follow that he should, therefore, abstrue working for gun control legislation.
how does it feel, lefty,
to be as sharp as i think you actually are,
but to argue as foolishly as you often do?
@orionATL: “Autism” is not a synonym for “mentally deficient”. You are maligning a hell of a lot of people that fall somewhere along the autism spectrum. Please stop it.