Drone strikes | AEIdeas

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Has Rand Paul not seen ‘Red Dawn’?

Marc Thiessen | March 7, 2013, 5:04 pm

Now that Sen. Rand Paul is done playing “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” maybe he should take a moment to watch one of the greatest conservative movies ever made: “Red Dawn.” In the movie, Soviet Red Army paratroopers invade and … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

No, Americans do not really oppose killing American al-Qaeda with drones

Marc Thiessen | February 7, 2013, 2:25 pm

Over at Slate, Dave Weigel reports on a new Farleigh-Dickinson poll which purports to show that a majority of Americans oppose drone strikes on American-born al-Qaeda leaders: Via CNN, the new Farleigh-Dickinson poll finally, finally separates two questions about drone … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

The ‘Obama Way of War’ comes to Niger

Phillip Lohaus | January 29, 2013, 11:17 am

US Africa Command announced today that it is in talks with the government of Niger to establish a permanent drone base there that could significantly increase the ability of the US to monitor and – presumably – attack Islamic extremists … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Defense

Tying the hands of our drone operators

Marc Thiessen | January 22, 2013, 11:11 am

Does Barack Obama intend to end the drone war before leaving office four years from now? There are troubling indications that he may well do just that. After Obama took the oath of office four years ago, one of his … read more >

Image Credit: DrSmith 7383 (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Foreign and Defense Policy, AfPak

Zero troops in Afghanistan = zero drone strikes in Pakistan

Marc Thiessen | January 9, 2013, 1:03 pm

The New York Times reports today that the Obama administration is considering doing what it did in Iraq, and withdrawing all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by 2014: On the eve of a visit by President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, the … read more >

Image Credit: Arabani (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Foreign and Defense Policy

A new critic of Obama’s drone policy: James Bond

Marc Thiessen | October 22, 2012, 11:31 am

On the eve of tonight’s foreign policy debate, a new voice has emerged to criticize Barack Obama’s policy of killing every senior terrorist he finds using unmanned drones — James Bond. read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

Obama explains why he did not use a drone for Bin Laden, plans to try him in civilian court

Marc Thiessen | October 3, 2012, 2:47 pm

In the new forthcoming issue of Vanity Fair, President Obama does another victory lap for ordering the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. Among the headline-making revelations, the story reveals that he planned to try the al Qaeda leader in … read more >

Image credit: Brigadier Lance Mans, Deputy Director, NATO Special Operations Coordination Centre, Wikimedia Commons

Politics and Public Opinion, Law and the Constitution

Why is the ACLU suing Panetta, Petraeus over Awlaki killing — but not President Obama?

Marc Thiessen | July 18, 2012, 3:08 pm

This afternoon, the ACLU and the left-wing Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) are back in court with a wrongful death suit against the U.S. officials involved in the targeted killing of the American-born al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, as well … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

Barack Obama, unilateralist

Marc Thiessen | June 18, 2012, 1:10 pm

Speaking at the Air Force Academy a few weeks ago, Barack Obama boasted about how the world’s view of America had changed on his watch. When he took office, the president told the cadets: Many of our alliances were strained, … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

Islamabad needs to acknowledge the existence of drone program

Ahmad Majidyar | February 3, 2012, 3:54 pm

Earlier this week, President Obama laid out a strong defense of using drone aircraft to target al Qaeda and Taliban militants inside Pakistan, and thus for the first time officially acknowledged the CIA’s “worst-kept secret” program that has increased significantly … read more >