In an address at National Defense University, President Obama will describe his administration’s legal justification and framework for drone strikes and targeted killings. This follows official confirmation by Attorney General Eric Holder that four United States citizens have been killed in strikes, including a targeted attack on Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in September 2011.
As Takeaway partner The New York Times notes, while the number of drone strikes has declined in recent years, the debate over their legality has intensified.
A number of critics from across the political spectrum have also criticized the use of drones in terms of diplomacy. The recent Senate testimony of Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemeni writer and activist, illustrated the ways in which drone strikes alienate local populations.
“What the violent militants had previously failed to achieve, one drone strike accomplished in an instant,” Al-Muslimi said. “There is now an intense anger against America in [the village] Wasab. This is not an isolated instance. The drone strikes are the face of America to many Yemenis.”
Micah Zenko, Douglas Dillon Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of a recent comprehensive report on drone strike policies, describes the diplomatic problems that arise from targeted killing.