February 11, 2013 | Quote
Lawmakers Test Legal Waters for Regulating Drones
The new notion is drawing concern from some in Congress who fear special courts would slow down the drone strikes — considered by some, including Brennan, as one of the most effective weapons in the war against al-Qaida.
But many lawmakers say an update is needed in the law, passed in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks, that gives the president sweeping powers to pursue al-Qaida. They say that al-Qaida has grown far beyond the war zones and technology has improved, too, enabling a Predator drone operator in the United States to track and kill a target thousands of miles away with great accuracy.
Drone strikes have expanded dramatically in the Obama administration. Fewer than 50 took place during the Bush administration, while more than 360 strikes have been launched under Obama, according to the website The Long War Journal, which tracks the operations. The strikes have been credited with killing more than 70 senior al-Qaida and Taliban commanders in Pakistan alone since they began in 2004.
In Thursday's hearing, Brennan defended strikes as necessary, saying they are taken only as a “last resort,” but he said he had no qualms about the strike that killed U.S. born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, because of his roles in several terror attacks.