Years ago, I heard on the radio this speech John Brennan gave outlining their drone strike kill list justification and rationalization
Basically he said
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it wasnt punishment for anything anyone had actually done, but instead was a deterrant from doing something in the future
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they would only do this if the person was an imminent threat to US interests, and it was just too dang difficult to arrest and convict them
I was never able to find that speech anywhere online, and ive never heard anyone else talk about it. Its like im the only one who heard it that day. Weird.
This was a huge topic of conversation in Obongo's second term. Just search on
brennan disposition matrix
https://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/john-brennans-kill-list
https://www.wired.com/2013/01/brennan-cia/
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2012/11/challenging-the-disposition-matrix-and-its-ever-expanding-kill-list/
and many more.
It got dropped by the MSM for reasons we can guess. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Team Trump found out they were added to the list in '15 after Escalator Day.
My recollection is that Brennan was uncomfy with CIA having so much power over this. He wanted the power transferred to/institutionalized within DoD. But he may have been lying about all that. Not sure where things stand now.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/john-brennan-diminishing-cia-role-drone-strikes-and-other-key-items-2nd-post-article