Category Archives: White House Politics

The Drone Papers Digested: The “Assassination Complex”

Posted on January 8, 2016 by

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 →

Posted in CIA, Jeremy Scahill, JSOC, Middle East, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, White House Politics | Leave a comment

The Dronification of State Violence, Part III: The Drone War Paper Trail

Posted on April 25, 2014 by

Previous section: The Dronification of State Violence, Part II: Historical Origins The Paper Trail So far, we have provided some of the broad-brush strokes of the CIA’s partnership with Pakistan’s ISI. Yet in analyzing the CIA, it is easy to “black … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, History of Drones, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, White House Politics | Leave a comment

The Dronification of State Violence, Part 1: Life and Death in the West Wing

Posted on April 17, 2014 by

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 →

Posted in Biopolitics, Brennan, CIA, Empire, Geopolitics and International Relations, Hannah Arendt, Law and Lawfare, Obama, White House Politics | Leave a comment

CIA to remain central force in U.S. counter-terrorism for “many years to come”

Posted on April 16, 2014 by

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 →

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Bureaucratic Assassination — How do U.S. Targeted Killings Work?

Posted on October 3, 2013 by

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 →

Posted in CIA, Law and Lawfare, Obama, Special Forces, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, White House Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dirty Wars: A Review, Part 1: The Rise of Neoconservatives

Posted on June 13, 2013 by

Dirty Wars, by Jeremy Scahill Jeremy Scahill’s “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield” is a masterpiece of independent journalism that explores the spread of U.S. paramilitary violence in the shadows. I have taken far too many notes (!) so … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Jeremy Scahill, Law and Lawfare, White House Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The White House’s counterterrorism “playbook” is near completion

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

Greg Miller, Ellen Nakashima, and Karen DeYoung report on the White House’s institutionalization of targeted killings and other counterterrorism tactics. John Brennan, the future CIA director, was a pivotal figure in centralizing the diverse “disposition” techniques across the Pentagon, CIA, and State Department … Continue reading →

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Drone strikes are “counter-productive”, former Obama security adviser

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

Although it is obvious to lots of people that a “thanatopolitics” – the mobilization of death to secure life – is doomed to failure, when U.S officials acknowledge this shortcoming, it crests in the news. Consider Michael Boyle, who was on Obama’s … Continue reading →

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The White House’s ‘Drone Rulebook’ was accelerated during U.S. 2012 election

Posted on November 26, 2012 by

As reported last month by the Washington Post, the White House has been scrambling to unify its targeting procedures for extrajudicial drone strikes. The development of the ‘playbook’ as its called, was accelerated in the weeks leading to the U.S. … Continue reading →

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Deadly Documents: Executive Orders, Their Monarchical Power, and Their Roots in Thanksgiving

Posted on November 22, 2012 by

Many of the excesses and abuses attributed to the CIA–from counter-insurgency in Vietnam to counter-terrorism in Pakistan–are set in motion by a single, deadly document: an executive order called a ‘presidential finding’. This strange piece of paper, which usually bears … Continue reading →

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