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Category Archives: CIA
The Drone Papers Digested: The “Assassination Complex”
In what follows, I want to summarize the main findings from the release of the “drone papers” by the Intercept in late 2015. These documents, from a 2013 Pentagon report, offer a snapshot of U.S. manhunting by JSOC Special Forces … Continue reading
The Endgame: The War of All Against All (The Dronification of State Violence, Conclusion)
The Endgame: The War of All Against All (The Dronification of State Violence, Conclusion) “The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world” — Hannah Arendt, 1969[1] The … Continue reading
The Dronification of State Violence, Part IV: The Predator
Previous section: The Dronification of State Violence, Part III: The Drone War Paper Trail The Predator “The bar for war had been lowered, the remote-controlled age had begun, and the killer drones became an object of fascination inside the CIA.”—Mark Mazzetti[1] … Continue reading
Posted in Afghanistan, CIA, Hannah Arendt, History of Drones, Pakistan, Special Forces
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The Dronification of State Violence, Part 1: Life and Death in the West Wing
This post is part of a series of sections from a broader paper, which can be found online here. Full citation: Ian Shaw and Majed Akhter (2014) The Dronification of State Violence, Critical Asian Studies, 46(2): 211-234. Introduction: Life and … Continue reading
CIA to remain central force in U.S. counter-terrorism for “many years to come”
Mark Mazzetti of the NYT reports on the enduring, central role of the CIA in drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. This comes despite rumblings last year that the Pentagon would handle the U.S. targeted killings. “Despite rampant rumors that … Continue reading
Posted in Brennan, CIA, White House Politics
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The Dronification of State Violence – published
I have just been notified that Critical Asian Studies have published my co-authored paper, “The Dronification of State Violence.” Here’s the abstract: This article explores the shifting methods of U.S. state violence. Building on their earlier work, the authors focus … Continue reading
Information on the American being targeted for drone strike
Details have emerged of the U.S. citizen who has been the focus of recent discussions on whether or not the Obama administration has the legal right to kill him. He is known as Abdullah al-Shami, an Arabic name meaning Abdullah … Continue reading
Diplomatic memos reveal extent of US-Pakistan drone cooperation
Although it is now widely known that the CIA and Pakistan’s ISI have cooperated on the targeting and execution of drone strikes in the tribal areas, the Washington Post has obtained files that detail the explicit nature of this relationship … Continue reading
Posted in CIA, Pakistan
Tagged CIA, Drones, ISI, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Washington Post
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The Kill-Net: NSA and CIA Collaboration in Drone Manhunt
The National Security Agency (NSA) provides crucial signals intelligence (SIGNIT) to the CIA’s drone manhunt. The “revelations”, while not surprising, do at least detail the extensive collaboration between different government agencies. And of course, both of these agencies are nominally … Continue reading
Posted in CIA, NSA, Secrecy and Surveillance
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Bureaucratic Assassination — How do U.S. Targeted Killings Work?
INTRODUCTION Since the First World War and the birth of airpower, both military and civilian personnel have worked together to compile target lists for bombing. New and evolving technology has reduced the “blast radius” of the munitions dropped to such … Continue reading
Understanding Empire: Technology, Power, Politics 