Truthdigger of the Week: Rand Paul

Tracy Bloom / Truthdig Mar 10, 2013 The confirmation of John Brennan, the man tapped by President Obama to head the Central Intelligence Agency, appeared to be a slam dunk That is, until Sen Rand Paul, R-Ky, took to the Senate floor to begin a lengthy filibuster of Brennan’s nomination that served as a scathing indictment of the Obama administration’s targeted killings policyJohn Brennan's confirmation as CIA director appeared to be a slam dunk Rand Paul took to the Senate floor to mount a filibuster that served as an indictment of the administration’s targeted killings policy. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Targeted Killings: A Legal History

Bill Blum / Truthdig Feb 15, 2013 Assassinations have long been regarded as a basic element of foreign relations that largely remained in the dark, unspoken of but widely practiced in response to perceived threats to national security. Assassinations have long been regarded as basic elements of foreign relations that were largely unspoken of but widely practiced in response to perceived threats to national security. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The Shooting Gallery: Obama and the Vanishing Point of Democracy

By Henry A. Giroux, Truthout Feb 13, 2013 We live at a time in the United States when the notion of political enemies has become a euphemism for dismantling prohibitions against targeted assassinations, torture, abductions and indefinite detention. Dig deeper ( 14 Min. Read )

U.S. and Israel Push the Boundaries of International Law

William Pfaff / Truthdig Feb 13, 2013 In 2009, the former head of the international law department of Israel's military establishment, Daniel Reisner, said that "International law progresses through violations. We invented the targeted assassination thesis and we had to push it." Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

An Interview With Marjorie Cohn About Targeted Killings

By Dennis Bernstein Feb 9, 2013 We have a global battlefield, where if there is someone, anywhere, who might be associated with Al-Qaida, according to a high government official, then Obama can authorize on Terror Tuesday who he is going to kill after consulting with counterterrorism guru John Brennan. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

U.N.’s Drone Investigator Backs Brennan for Top CIA Job

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 8, 2013 The head of the United Nations inquiry into drone strikes and targeted killings has endorsed John Brennan, President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser who is facing Senate scrutiny Thursday at his confirmation hearing to become CIA director. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Greenwald Responds to the DOJ’s Targeted Killing Leak

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 6, 2013 The Department of Justice memo released by NBC News on Monday, which asserts the right of U.S. officials to kill American citizens without due process, “equates government accusations with guilt,” writes Glenn Greenwald in The Guardian. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

DOJ Memo Outlines Legal Case for Drone Strikes on Americans (Video)

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 6, 2013 The U.S. Justice Department has abandoned evidenced-based reasoning in an undated memo obtained by NBC News that argues for the right of the government to target and kill American citizens it simply deems to be terrorists. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

U.S. Puts Drones in Yemen in Overdrive

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Sep 6, 2012 Ten civilians were slain in Yemen over the weekend by the Obama administration’s unmanned drones, weapons that have killed 29 people in a little over a week and nearly 200 this year. But you won’t hear about them or the government’s unofficial war in Yemen at the Democratic National Convention this week. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Drone-Court Advantage

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 27, 2012 Sometimes the best way to respond to those who say criticism of President Obama amounts to support for his Republican opponents -- and should thus be avoided -- is to embrace their premise and allow satire to lead audiences to their contradictory conclusions, as Charles Davis does in the “Game of Drones” issue of The New Inquiry. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Tom Junod on ‘The Lethal Presidency’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 14, 2012 It is with an unlikely mix of discipline, deliberation, personal integrity, a love of law and strong political ideals that President Obama has crafted “The Lethal Presidency,” award-winning journalist Tom Junod writes in Esquire magazine. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Chomsky on Human Rights, Communities of Dissent and More

Staff / Truthdig May 14, 2012 Dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky sat down with "Democracy Now!" for an hourlong conversation about the Palestinian prisoner hunger strike, the relationships forged by Occupy Wall Street, Obama’s targeted assassinations, WikiLeaks’ whistle-blowing and Latin America’s gradual slip from U.S. dominance. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )