"The first is an incredibly useful, and pretty thorough, synopsis at Lawfare of the new NDAA entitled "NDAA FAQ: A Guide for the Perplexed". It is co-written by Ben Wittes and Bobby Chesney and, though I may differ slightly in a couple of areas, it is not by much and their primer is extremely useful. I suggest it highly, and it has condensed a lot of material into an easily digestible blog length post."
"The administration has said that its covert, targeted killings with remote-controlled aircraft in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and potentially beyond are proper under both domestic and international law. It has said that the targets are chosen under strict criteria, with rigorous internal oversight. .... "They've based it on the personal legitimacy of [President] Obama - the 'trust me' concept," Anderson said. "That's not a viable concept for a president going forward.""
The NDAA contains controversial provisions and has prompted concise analytical synopses such as the Lawfare NDAA FAQ by Ben Wittes and Bobby Chesney. The Obama administration conducts covert, targeted drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, asserting legality under domestic and international law and claiming strict target criteria and internal oversight. Critics caution against reliance on presidential personal legitimacy ('trust me') as a legal or political foundation. The CIA and many White House officials defend secrecy to protect operations. The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has opposed declassification of its opinion justifying the targeted killing of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki. Personnel shifts placing former CIA and military leaders in key roles deepen secrecy dynamics.
Read at Emptywheel
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