Or so says a new piece by Daniel Klaidman. This seems to generally track with how I viewed the Brennan nomination. Now let’s see how this combines with attempts to revise the AUMF or authorize new targets in the coming weeks.
Nob Akimoto
Nob Akimoto is a policy analyst and part-time dungeon master. When not talking endlessly about matters of public policy, he is a dungeon master on the NWN World of Avlis
Thanks to your generosity, we were able to upgrade our service plan. Hopefully this will help us address some of our performance issues.
on Youngsters Make Merry at Evanston Country Club Christmas PartyHester Walrath (1898-1971) went on to attend Northwestern University, marry a businessman, and have…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024So the "CR" of 1500 pages, given to members 24 hours before the vote, and which did all kinds of thi…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024Do you not understand the irony of speaking positively about banning political parties in the same b…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024I suppose we could blame the townspeople for not showing up the umpteenth time the shepherd boy crie… on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024A small backlash? If the election were held today they would be the 2nd biggest party in the Bundest…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024I have no idea why pointing out that Na.zis were elected legitimately is relevant to this discussion… on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024No, I'm pointing out that you find 'Trump is Hitler' more absurd than 'These people are Na.zis', so…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024The local paper referenced this work, partially paid for by the feds, this morning. Some of the phas… on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024And I will, again, point you that you are the first to mention Hitler, You sure about that? Maybe re… on A Note from EmHe's one of the AIs. https://claude.ai/new I make him read my essays and then I argue with him about…
Youngsters Make Merry at Evanston Country Club Christmas Party
December 21, 2024
December 20, 2024
December 19, 2024
December 18, 2024
on A Note from Em on A Note from Em on A Note from Em on A Note from Em on A Note from Em on A Note from Em on A Note from Em
on From The Wall Street Journal: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024
on A Note from Em on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024
on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/16/2024
Well, if this is for real I think it’s a good thingReport
Much better that it not be the CIA. It’s not their mission, they’ve screwed up similar things in the past, they appear to be screwing this up right now.
In general, having fewer military-like outfits in a country is better than more. The use of paramilitary force is a dangerous thing.Report
If it’s true, it’s an improvement. But I am not entirely convinced this is a good thing. Moving it from CIA to DOD changes nothing in terms of the net product. Casting the CIA’s actions in the worst possible light, deeming them extrajudicial murder of American citizens, aerial death squads, ( a viewpoint I categorically reject and only moot in the interests of the legality of such actions) — how does moving those killings from CIA to DOD change anything?
Here’s what changes: we transfer justice systems from reg’lar old DoJ justice, with judges and civilian oversight — to DOD justice, UCMJ, with military oversight. Just a different set of rules. Military justice. We see how well this is working out in Guantanamo, a set of state actors imprisoning non-state actors. DOD balks at every attempt to try their prisoners, to the point of releasing them, only to be re-arrested on the battlefield.
I’m not convinced we’ve addressed the fundamentals yet. Until we’ve worked out a way for our Fine Folks in Uniform to wage war against non-state actors, I would prefer civilian justice to military justice in every such circumstance. If these bad guys are as bad as we say, and there’s a strong argument for saying so, why not just call them criminals?Report
Here’s what changes: we transfer justice systems from reg’lar old DoJ justice, with judges and civilian oversight — to DOD justice, UCMJ, with military oversight.
I’m not sure the (DoJ and the CIA) is comparable to the (DoD and the UCMJ).
I think the second is probably mo’ bettah. Not good (for all the points you make), but better.Report
It’s not really ‘automated’ killing (at least not yet)(thank goodness, but nobody’s really pushing for that either). And of course (and as I think you imply) putting the capability over in the DoD vice the CIA without any other action is the same distiction without at difference as calling a ‘war’ a ‘police action’.Report
It’s not even a police action anymore. It’s authorized military force. Giving drones back to the military would further legitimize their use, it seems to me.Report
Us hipsters prefer our targeted killings to be locally-sourced and hand-crafted, not automated. Much more authentic that way, like, dude, you totally KNOW you’re being killed, and who is doing it…that personal, human touch still matters, I think.Report
but then the try-hards at the School of the Americas started calling them ‘death squads’, and it became totally lame, dude.Report
It’s kind of hit and miss with an artisanal blunderbuss, but that’s part of the charm.Report
I’ve said it before: pitting uniformed troops against non-state actors either upgrades the non-state actors or degrades the uniformed troops. Or both.
If it’s to be a ‘police action’, use actual police. Police understand there is no end to crime, only continuing enforcement of laws. The police are reconciled to this endless struggle: investigations, warrants, the rules of arrest, arraignments, rules of evidence and interrogation, the vagaries of judges and juries — in short, a society with a working justice system, not a Police State. Even the police in a Police State hate the role they’re obliged to play.Report
The key appears to be that it’ll also get CIA out of the target selection loop, or at least put a DoD process between it and the ultimate trigger pulling.
In general just putting drones into DoD makes them akin to JSOC forces of one stripe or another, which might mean less (not more) transparency from a civil governance point of view.Report
You’re not going to be able to take the CIA out of the process (if it’s still going to exist), they’re (almost) the only ones (by design) that know who’s who in the zoo (until SOCOM boots actually hit the ground, and then for only for as long as they stay). Or even if it’s not the CIA per se, there’s still has to be one of the intelligence community agencies involved somewhere in the chain (whether under title 50 or just under EO12333 and follow ons) – again, with the caveat that this capability continues to exist.Report
This development allows the CIA to focus on “nano tech killing” technologies now that the drone concept has been proven reliable…Report