First published 2017
America's drone warfare program operates in shadows, killing targets across the globe without traditional legal oversight. Jeremy Scahill and his team at The Intercept obtained classified documents from an intelligence community whistleblower that reveal the inner workings of this assassination complex. The documents show how the government decides who dies by drone strike, often without indictment or trial, even when the target holds American citizenship. Scahill demonstrates that drone strikes frequently kill unintended victims, including women and children, far outnumbering actual combatants eliminated. These civilian deaths fuel anti-American sentiment and provide recruitment opportunities for extremist groups. The Obama administration established strike procedures in 2013, over a decade after the first drone attack outside declared war zones, but offered no transparency about target selection processes. Scahill argues that this policy contradicts constitutional protections and democratic principles, revealing how the executive branch grants itself lethal authority without checks and balances.
Genres: american, non-fiction, 21st-century, investigative-journalism, current-affairs, activism
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, political-thriller
Setting: America
Period: 21st-century
256 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, murder