Debating drones and targeted killings abroad

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Guests: Claire Finkelstein and Michael Lewis

Does the President have the authority to target and kill American citizens overseas? In 2011, with approval by the President, the CIA launched a lethal drone attack on Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. born cleric and leader of Al-Qaeda in Yemen. Since then, serious questions have been raised about executive power and military force, the legal justification for targeted killings, secrecy surrounding drone attacks, and the morality of their use. We’ll explore all this issues with law professors CLAIRE FINKELSTEIN and MICHAEL W. LEWIS. Finkelstein is Director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Lewis teaches international Law and the Law of War at Ohio Northern University and served in the U.S. Navy from 1987-1995.

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