September 11th, 2001 changed how the United States conceptualized and conducted counterterrorism for a generation. In the aftermath of the attacks, President George W. Bush vowed that the United States would fight “…until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated” – thereby ushering in a new era of national security, of prolonged conflict and expansive decisions to use lethal force, including through remote means and under opaque justifications. A lethal U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2002 operationalized, for the first time, the development and sustainment of an exceptional program for using lethal force against perceived threats outside widely recognized war zones. Twenty years after 9/11, that exception is at increasing risk of becoming the rule, in which the United States assumes broad authorities to lethally target people around the world seemingly in perpetuity and in secret, with limited oversight, and with even more limited accountability.
The Long Shadow of 9/11 on Decisions to Use Lethal Force • Stimson Center
