Senator to 'Hold' Nominee for CIA Director | The Weekly Standard
Senator Paul shares the concern of many Americans.
And yes, the apprehension of a terrorist in Yemen can pose extraordinary difficulties for the defense establishment. However, a precedent of killing American citizens, under the guise of the War on Terrorism, all without due process... is a bit much to be asked to accept. I all but realize that once precedent has been set, and policy formed, there will be more occurrences of these kinds: Americans abroad being killed by drones.
I'm not basing my viewpoint purely upon that problem, though. While I overwhelmingly support the aspect of keeping our troops out of danger, and minimizing their risks, I have questioned the usage of drones several times over the years. Like, specifically, when a 'top al-Qaeda member' is killed. Intelligence has been lost. No telling how much or what of. It sucks to say, but sometimes we have to send our guys in so we can apprehend those terrorists, even though we know that not all of them are going to come home safely, or for that matter, alive. It just seems like drones are lazy, tactically, in the way they've been used against senior al-Qaeda leadership. There are risks going the no-risk route.
Alternatively, turning my gaze back domestically, of course it is speculation on my part that drones in American skies could be armed and used against American citizens on American soil. I base my prognostication off the trends of today, US counterterrorism policy, the precedents of both having drones in our skies and the deaths of Americans abroad, and the doorway those two precedents have created in US counterterrorism policy. The available intelligence at each of our disposal points in that direction.
John Brennan's response will either exacerbate this growing conundrum for many Americans, or, it will alleviate it. We'll see.