Latest in Power Wars
Today, Hachette is publishing the paperback edition of my history of Obama-era national-security legal policymaking, Power Wars, which is also replacing the text future e-book buyers will receive. I have systematically updated and revised the book since its hardcover publication in November 2015.
This Sunday the New York Times Book Review prints my all-too-brief rundown of Mark Danner’s new Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War. Danner’s book is not a work of academic analysis or journalistic reportage but instead a synthetic account of America’s drift since 9/11 by someone who thinks the country has gone dreadfully wrong.
Editor's Note: This piece also appears on the Power Wars blog and Just Security.
Back in November, The Hill reported that the White House is looking into increasing the transparency of the drone program before President Obama’s imminent departure from office:
The White House wants to reduce the secrecy surrounding lethal drone strikes and other counterterrorism efforts, with an eye on President Obama's legacy when he leaves office in 14 months.
“Governing had turned out to be more complicated than criticizing from the private sector or campaigning.”
–a senior Obama administration official.
Like many Lawfare readers, I confess to being a little obsessed with Charlie Savage's new book, Power Wars. It is a remarkable account of how national security law is forged, step by step, through the decisions of unsung government officials at times of intense stress. Its subtitle is "Inside Obama's Post-9/11 Presidency," but it could just as easily bear the subtitle of this blog -- "Hard National Security Choices."
Our guest for episode 90 is Charlie Savage, New York Times reporter, talking about Power Wars, his monumental new book on the law and politics of terrorism in the Obama (and Bush) administrations.
At the last Hoover Book Soiree—and if you have not attended one yet, you really should—Charlie Savage, New York Times national security reporter and author of the newly released book Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency, sat down with Lawfare’s Ja
"Law Wars" is the name that the editors of the New Rambler gave to my review of Charlie Savage's great new book, Power Wars.
My review begins:
Earlier this week, Time magazine published reviews of Charlie Savage's new book, Power Wars, by me and former Obama White House Counsel Bob Bauer. As I read it, "the story strongly implies that mainstream American politics don’t support fundamental rethinking of counterterrorism policies.