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The authors — including Seth Jones, former advisor to U. Special Operations Command — found that the vast majority of terrorist groups were eliminated because they either were infiltrated by local police and intelligence agencies 40 percent or reached a peaceful political agreement with the government 43 percent. Meanwhile, military force — think drones and Navy SEAL raids — eliminated terrorist groups only 7 percent of the time.
The Associated Press reported on Sept. Although drone strikes have arguably been effective at killing some senior al Qaeda members in Pakistan, the numbers elsewhere suggest there is a lot of killing yet ahead. Even so, it is exceedingly unlikely that all individuals affiliated with al Qaeda would be "destroyed and eliminated" without expanding the scope of the problem. By the time Obama entered office, the United States had basically quit capturing terrorists in non-battlefield situations.
This was not always the case. By no later than , however, the Bush administration stopped detentions because the White House and Congress could not reach an agreement over the legal jurisdiction of captured suspected terrorists. In late , this was made plain when Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly told Obama, "We do not have a plausible capture strategy. This reality was recently echoed by Sen.
Lindsey Graham, who serves on the Armed Services and Judiciary committees: They know that if they capture a guy, it creates a nightmare. That seems hard to believe.
Unfortunately, in war, there are casualties, including among the civilian population. In his public comments, Brennan is clear that the Obama administration endorses a drone-first eliminationist strategy for dealing with al Qaeda — and any " military-age males " nearby. This requires a tremendous amount of killing. In June , Brennan claimed: Brennan did not clarify what constituted "credible evidence," but as Justin Elliott and I myself quickly pointed out, there were many public reports — from Pakistani and Yemeni reporters and anonymous administration officials — of civilians killed by U.
Either Brennan did not receive the same reports of civilian casualties as other administration officials did an implausible notion , he lacks Internet access to read these anonymous comments equally implausible because Brennan closely responds to critics of targeted killings in his following media appearances , or he was lying. Regardless, his belief in the infallibility of the find-fix-finish cycle defies an understanding of the inherent flaws and limitations of even the most precise uses of lethal force.
In fact, we see the opposite: Our Yemeni partners are more eager to work with us. Policy Toward Yemen ," speech, Aug. Based on his education and deployments with the CIA, Brennan is said to have a deep knowledge of the Middle East; he speaks Arabic; and he enjoys contact with many senior officials in foreign intelligence and interior ministries — which explains his de facto role as White House liaison to Yemen.
As Brennan says , "I find the Arab world a fascinating place. Although he might have unique insights into the Arab mind, actual Yemenis and journalists reporting from the country see here , here , and here say that Yemenis hate drones strikes.
There is also a strong correlation between targeted killings in Yemen since December — primarily conducted by U. In , the Obama administration described AQAP as "several hundred al Qaeda members"; two years later, it increased to "more than a thousand members. According to the State Department, five U.
Embassy by seven assailants dressed in government security-service uniforms; and this March one U. These five Americans were killed by various Islamist groups in brutal acts of terrorism, defined under U. Over that same period, four U. Attorney General Eric Holder argues that the Fifth Amendment right to due process is determined solely by the executive branch and that only with "robust oversight" can the United States target its citizens.
Subscribe Now In New Orleans, there is little question that Miss Ella, as Ms. Brennan is Ms. Brennan's family has recently set out to ensure that her legacy is The book and film tell the story of a hard-charging, no-nonsense . (Owen Brennan's sons continued to run Brennan's until , when a group. John Owen Brennan (born September 22, ) is an American intelligence official who served The ACLU called for the Senate not to proceed with the appointment until they confirmed He was a daily intelligence briefer for President Bill Clinton. In an early December interview with the Bergen Record, Brennan.
Similarly, Brennan claimed that the Obama administration engages in "additional review if the al Qaeda terrorist is a U. At the same time, the United States has never provided public evidence that they were involved with terrorist groups in Yemen. Let me repeat that.
More than half of the assistance we provide to Yemen is for political transition, humanitarian assistance, and development. After falling in love in high school, Jobs and Brennan, kindred counterculture spirits, had an on-again, off-again romance over five years. They never married, but lived together for parts of that time.
He got her pregnant at age 18—by their agreement, she had an abortion—then again, when she was Lisa was born in May Yet he went to great lengths to deny paternity for more than two years, while Brennan cleaned houses, waited tables, and went on welfare. While Jobs rarely visited his daughter for years, bought a mansion, and drove a Mercedes, Brennan struggled to make ends meet.
He under-provided for everything. It was always like pulling teeth to get him to step up. Despite this, Brennan filed for bankruptcy in During high school, Lisa lived with her father and his family for the first time.
In a second essay, Lisa wrote: After a summertime conflict with Lisa, back home from Harvard, Jobs stopped supporting her and refused to pay her college tuition. In , Brennan was again in financial distress. I think you might have taken this for granted, but it should mean a great deal to you….
This letter is the truth and money and appreciation represent reconciliation.
Obama's top terrorism adviser goes from unconfirmable in to uncontroversial in , reflecting the Obama legacy". In August , Brennan criticized some Bush-administration anti-terror policies, saying that waterboarding had threatened national security by increasing the recruitment of terrorists and decreasing the willingness of other nations to cooperate with the U. Based on his education and deployments with the CIA, Brennan is said to have a deep knowledge of the Middle East; he speaks Arabic; and he enjoys contact with many senior officials in foreign intelligence and interior ministries — which explains his de facto role as White House liaison to Yemen. By no later than , however, the Bush administration stopped detentions because the White House and Congress could not reach an agreement over the legal jurisdiction of captured suspected terrorists. Views Read Edit View history.
I should have received the peaceful experiences that wealth provides so I could provide for Lisa as she was growing up…. To me this balances what I have done for you. All the years that I have lost as a result of a sort of theft from dishonorable behavior can heal and be forgiven. Her payment request, however—offered as an alternative to publishing her memoir—brought his immediate, angry response. I have been without a home for over a year and I [am] ill and I am fried.
It would be convenient for me to die but even this does not happen.