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¹¹¹ Barron and Lederman, ‘The commander in chief at the lowest ebb’, p. 708.

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¹⁵⁰ Ibid., p. 41.

¹⁵¹ Barack Obama, ‘Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech’, The Huffington Post (18 March 2010), available at: {http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/obama‑nobel‑peace‑prize‑a_n_386837.html} accessed 28 October 2015.

¹⁵² Anderson and Wittes, Speaking the Law, p. 18.

¹⁵³ Goldsmith, Power and Constraint, p. 41.

¹⁵⁴ Savage, Power Wars, p. 63.

¹⁵⁵ Kenneth Anderson, ‘Targeted Killing in US Counterterrorism Strategy and Law’, Working Paper, Georgetown University Law Center and Hoover Institution (11 May 2009), available at: {https://www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/cerl/conferences/targetedkilling/papers/AndersonCounterterrorismStrategy.pdf} accessed 4 May 2017.

¹⁵⁶ Barack Obama, ‘Remarks against the Iraq War’ (2 October 2002), available at: {http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99591469} accessed 10 March 2016.

¹⁵⁷ Obama, The Audacity of Hope, pp. 308–9.

¹⁵⁸ Koh, ‘Comment’.

¹⁵⁹ Klaidman, Kill or Capture.

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¹⁶⁹ Goldsmith, Power and Constraint, p. 46.

¹⁷⁰ Daskal, Jennifer and Vladeck, Steve, ‘Power wars symposium: Where did things go wrong? Three key moments that shaped Obama’s failed Guantánamo policy’, Just Security (11 November 2015)Google Scholar, available at: {https://www.justsecurity.org/27514/wrong-key-moments-shaped-obamas-failed-guantanamo-policy/} accessed 9 January 2017. See also Savage, Power Wars, p. 87.

¹⁷¹ The increased number of drone strikes in Pakistan was also connected with the decision for a ‘surge’ in Afghanistan. See Woodward, Bob, Obama’s War (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011)Google Scholar and Aslam, Wali, ‘Drones and the issue of continuity in America’s Pakistan policy under Obama’, in Bentley and Holland (eds), The Obama Doctrine Google Scholar.

¹⁷² Bergen, Peter and Rowland, Jennifer, ‘Decade of the drone’, in Peter Bergen and Daniel Rothenberg (eds), Drone Wars (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), p. 13 Google Scholar.

¹⁷³ Becker, Jo and Shane, Scott, ‘Secret “Kill List” proves a test of Obama’s principles and will’, The New York Times (29 May 2012)Google Scholar, available at: {http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html?_r=0} accessed 28 October 2015.

¹⁷⁴ Schachtman, Noah, ‘CIA Chief: Drones “Only Game in Town for Stopping al Qaeda”’, Wired (19 May 2009)Google Scholar, available at: {http://www.wired.com/2009/05/cia-chief-drones-only-game-in-town-for-stopping-al-qaeda/} accessed 10 March 2016.

¹⁷⁵ Philip Aston, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions’, UN General Assembly (28 May 2010), available at: {http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.24.Add6.pdf} accessed 5 May 2016, p. 25.

¹⁷⁶ Obama, Barack, ‘Exit Interview’, NPR (19 December 2016)Google Scholar, available at: {http://www.npr.org/2016/12/19/504998487/transcript-and-video-nprs-exit-interview-with-president-obama} accessed 18 January 2016.

¹⁷⁷ Lynn Davis, Michael McNerney, James Chow, Thomas Hamilton, Sarah Harting, and Daniel Byman, Armed and Dangerous: UAVs and US Security, Rand Corporation, available at: {http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR400/RR449/RAND_RR449.pdf} accessed 28 October 2015, p. 19.

¹⁷⁸ Shane, Operation Troy, p. 231.

¹⁷⁹ Brennan, ‘Strengthening our Security’.

¹⁸⁰ John Yoo, ‘Using force’, University of Chicago Law Review, 71 (2004), p. 18.

¹⁸¹ Klaidman, Kill or Capture, p. 219.

¹⁸² Barack Obama, Google Hangout (30 January 2012), available at: {http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPMPMqOjKY} accessed 10 January 2017.

¹⁸³ Eric Holder, ‘Remarks at Northwestern University School of Law’ (5 March 2012), available at: {http://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-eric-holder-speaks-northwestern-university-school-law} accessed 28 October 2015.

¹⁸⁴ David Barron, ‘Memorandum for the Attorney General’ (16 July 2010), available at: {http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/06/23/National-Security/Graphics/memodrones.pdf} accessed 28 October 2015.

¹⁸⁵ Scahill, Dirty Wars.

¹⁸⁶ Department of Justice, ‘Lawfulness of a lethal operation directed against a US citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa’ida or an Associated Force’, White Paper (2011), available at: {http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/020413_DOJ_White_Paper.pdf} accessed 12 July 2017.

¹⁸⁷ Jeh Johnson, ‘The Conflict against Al-Qaeda and its Affiliates: How it Will End’ (30 November 2012), available at: {http://www.lawfareblog.com/2012/11/jeh-johnson-speech-at-the-oxford-union/} accessed 18 March 2016.

¹⁸⁸ Anderson and Wittes, Speaking the Law, p. 141.

¹⁸⁹ Ibid., pp. 141–2.

¹⁹⁰ Barack Obama, ‘Remarks by the President at the National Defense University’ (23 May 2013), available at: {https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university} accessed 4 May 2017.

¹⁹¹ See White House, ‘US Policy Standards and Procedures for the Use of Force in Counterterrorism’ (23 May 2013), available at: {https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/fact-sheet-us-policy-standards-and-procedures-use-force-counterterrorism } accessed 4 May 2017.

¹⁹² Ibid.

¹⁹³ Eric Holder, ‘Letter to Patrick J. Leary, Committee on the Judiciary, US Senate’ (22 May 2013), available at: {http://www.justice.gov/slideshow/AG-letter-5-22-13.pdf} accessed 4 May 2017.

¹⁹⁴ US Department of Defense, ‘Law of Armed Conflict, the Use of Military Force and the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force’, Joint Statement for the Record, Committee on Armed Services, US Senate (16 May 2013), available at: {http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/lawofarmedconflict_useofmilitaryforce_2001aumf_hearing_051613.pdf} accessed 4 May 2017, p. 8.

¹⁹⁵ Brien Egan, ‘International Law, Legal Diplomacy, and Counter-ISIL Campaign’ (4 April 2016), available at: {https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Egan-ASIL-speech.pdf} accessed 9 May 2016, p. 5.

¹⁹⁶ Daniel Bethlehem, ‘Not By Any Other Name: A Response to Jack Goldsmith on Obama’s Imminence’, Lawfare Blog (7 April 2016), available at: {https://www.lawfareblog.com/not-any-other-name-response-jack-goldsmith-obamas-imminence} accessed 9 May 2016.

¹⁹⁷ The White House, ‘Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding the United States’ Use of Military Force and Related National Security Operations’ (December 2016), available at: {https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/framework.Report_Final.pdf} accessed 4 January 2017.

¹⁹⁸ Ibid., pp. 9–10.

¹⁹⁹ Walzer, Michael, Just Wars (London: Basic Books, 2000), p. 81 Google Scholar.

²⁰⁰ Betlehem, Daniel, ‘Self-defense against an imminent or actual armed attack by nonstate actors’, The American Journal of International Law, 106:4 (2012), pp. 775–776 Google Scholar.

²⁰¹ Ellen O’Connell, Mary, ‘Dangerous departures’, The American Journal of International Law, 107:2 (2013), pp. 380–386 Google Scholar. See also Wittes, Benjamin, ‘The White House Releases a “Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks” on American Uses of Military Force’, Lawfare (5 December 2016)Google Scholar, available at: {https://www.lawfareblog.com/white-house-releases-report-legal-and-policy-frameworks-american-uses-military-force} accessed 9 January 2017; and Anderson and Wittes, Speaking the Law.

²⁰² Scharf, Michael P., ‘How the war against ISIS changed international law’, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 48:1 (2016), pp. 50–51 Google Scholar

²⁰³ Gibb, ‘Attorney-general sets out legal basis’.

²⁰⁴ Dworkin, ‘European countries edge towards war on terror’.

²⁰⁵ Hurd, ‘The permissive power of the ban on war’, p. 2.

²⁰⁶ Venzke, ‘Is interpretation in international law a game?’.

²⁰⁷ Brooks, Rosa, How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon (New York: Simon and Schuster 2016), pp. 200–202 Google Scholar.

²⁰⁸ See Maddow, Rachel, Drift (New York: Broadway Books, 2012), pp. 86–87 Google Scholar; Woodward, Veil.

²⁰⁹ Savage, Power Wars, p. 232.

²¹⁰ Klaidman, Kill or Capture, p. 221; Chris Woods, email exchange with the author, 12 January 2016.

²¹¹ Hartig, Luke, ‘The Drone Playbook: An Essay on the Obama Legacy and Policy Recommendations for the Next President’, New America (2016)Google Scholar, available at: {https://na-production.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Drone_Playbook_Essay_8.16.pdf} accessed 9 January 2017.

²¹² Woods, Chris, Sudden Justice (London: Hurst and Company, 2015), p. 160 Google Scholar.

²¹³ Searle, Jack, ‘CIA Drone Strikes in Pakistan Fall to Lowest Level in 8 Years’, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (7 January 2016)Google Scholar, available at: {https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2016/01/07/cia-drone-strikes-in-pakistan-fall-to-lowest-level-in-8-years-bureaus-annual-report-reveals/} accessed 18 March 2016.

²¹⁴ Savage, Charlie and Schmitt, Eric, ‘Trump administration is said to be working to loosen counterterrorism rules’, The New York Times (12 March 2017)Google Scholar, available at: {https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/us/politics/trump-loosen-counterterrorism-rules.html?_r=0} accessed 21 April 2017.

²¹⁵ Micah Zenko, ‘The (Not-So) Peaceful Transition of Power: Trump’s Drone Strikes Outpace Obama’, Council on Foreign Relations, available at: {http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2017/03/02/the-not-so-peaceful-transition-of-power/} accessed 21 April 2017.

²¹⁶ Chayes, Abram, The Cuban Missile Crisis (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974), p. 103 Google Scholar.

²¹⁷ Ibid., p. 35.

²¹⁸ See Goldsmith, Jack, ‘Let loose the laws of war’, The Slate Book Review (6 January 2016)Google Scholar, available at: {http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/books/2016/01/power_wars_by_charlie_savage_reviewed.html} accessed 10 March 2016.

²¹⁹ Harold Hongju Koh, ‘The Emerging Law of 21^st Century Law’, Third Annual Justice Stephen Breyer Lecture on International Law, available at: {https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ios_20170411_breyer_lecture_koh.pdf} accessed 21 April 2017, p. 39.

²²⁰ Banks, William, ‘Regulating drones’, in Bergen and Rothenberg (eds), Drone Wars, p. 144 Google Scholar.

²²¹ Ward Thomas, The Ethics of Destruction (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001); John Prados, interview with the author, 11 September 2015; Bruce Riedel, interview with the author, Washington, DC, 4 August 2016.