Gregory McNeal is a professor at Pepperdine University. He is a national security specialist focusing on the institutions and challenges associated with global security, with substantive expertise in national security law and policy, criminal law, and international law. He previously served as Assistant Director of the Institute for Global Security, co-directed a transnational counterterrorism grant program for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as a legal consultant to the Chief Prosecutor of the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions on matters related to the prosecution of suspected terrorists held in the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Can the targeted killing program be reformed? That will be the topic of discussion today at 4pm EST, as the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights holds a hearing entitled “Drone Wars: The … Read more »
In my prior posts I discussed the process of targeted killing, and some of the accountability mechanisms embedded in the process. This post, and my next and final post will address reform recommendations that may help make the targeted killing … Read more »
In my prior post I focused on how Congress can serve as a mechanism of political accountability for targeted killings. In this post I want to focus on presidential and international politics as potential accountability mechanisms.
If congressional … Read more »
As regular readers know, I authored three posts on the kill-list creation process. In my first post I explained how law creates categories of targets, and how bureaucrats begin to create lists of targets. In my second post I explained … Read more »
This is a depiction of what a kill-list “baseball card” looks like:
In my previous post I discussed how law creates three broad categories of potential targets (AUMF targets, Covert Action targets, and Ally targets). Those broad categories mean that many individuals may be targetable based on their status as members of … Read more »
Thanks to Lawfare for hosting me again. I enjoyed my last visit, when I wrote about the U.S. military’s collateral damage estimation process, and I especially appreciated the helpful feedback (and in some cases, resources) I received from military and … Read more »
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
In one of the strangest stories I’ve come across in a long time—and there have been many—news reports say an FBI agent shot and killed an Orlando man with ties to deceased Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Ibragim Todashev was not suspected of playing a role in the bombings, but, during questioning, confessed nevertheless to playing a role in a triple homicide in the Boston area. After his confession, Todashev allegedly… Read more »
