Targeting Americans
Subtitle: the constitutionality of the U.S. Drone War
By: H. Jefferson Powell ; foreword by Philip Bobbitt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 229
ISBN-13: 9780190492847
Subjects: Counterinsurgency; Moral and ethical aspects; National security; Law and legislation; War and emergency powers; Constitutional law; Targeted killing; Drone aircraft; State crimes
Description: "[This book] focuses on the legal debate surrounding drone strikes, the use of which has expanded significantly under the Obama Presidency as part of the continuing war against terror. Despite the political salience of the legal questions raised by targeted killing, the author asserts that there has been remarkably little careful analysis of the fundamental legal question: the constitutionality of the policy. From a position of deep practical expertise in constitutional issues, Prof. Powell provides a dispassionate and balanced analysis of the issues posed by U.S. targeted killing policy, using the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in September 2011 as a focus for discussion. While Powell concludes that the al-Awlaki strike was constitutional under 2001 legislation, he rejects the Obama administration's broader claims of authority for its drone policies. Furthermore, he argues, citizens acting as combatants in al-Qaeda and associated groups are not entitled to due process protections: by due process standards, the administration's procedures are legally inadequate. A fundamental theme of the book is that the conclusion that an action or policy is constitutional should not be confused with claims about its wisdom, morality, or legality under international norms. Part of the purpose of constitutional analysis is to draw attention to these other normative concerns and not, as is too often the case, to occlude them."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The constitutional history of the war on terror; title: How to think constitutionally; title: The war powers of the U.S. government; title: The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki : a constitutional analysis; title: Targeted killing and the future : three speculations.