What Will Be President Obama's Legacy On Drone Strikes

Image: Flickr/U.S. Navy

The Hill: Obama outlines hopes for legacy on drone strikes

President Obama on Thursday said he hoped to leave behind a formalized process for conducting drone strikes and releasing information to the public, a peek into his aspirations to confront an issue over which he has been dogged by human rights advocates.

In remarks at the University of Chicago, Obama acknowledged that “there wasn’t enough of an overarching structure” behind the secretive targeted drone program early in his term.

But by the time a new president takes office next year, he said, stiff rules will be in place for conducting strikes and holding the government accountable.

“My hope is that by the time I leave office, there is not only an internal structure in place that governs these standards that we’ve set, but there is also an institutionalized process whereby the actions that the U.S. government takes through drone technology are consistently reported on an annualized basis," he said.

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Update: Obama Must Lift the Fog of Drone War (Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest)

WNU Editor: Will the next U.S. President follow President Obama's drone policy/strategy .... I am willing to bet that he or she will not. They will impose their own rules of engagement, and Congress will do what they have always done since 9/11 .... they will sign onto it. As for President Obama's legacy .... I am willing to bet that this will be buried and forgotten long after he has gone from the White House.