Drone Strike–Analyzing the Impacts of Targeted Killing

The intense debate over US targeted drone strikes outside war zones has been limited by the failure to review and assess a considerable body of quantitative research and qualitative material on the impacts of such strikes on terrorist groups and civilians. This book fills an important gap in the literature by conducting a careful and rigorous review of such evidence. It argues that decisions about the use of targeted strikes as a counterterrorism instrument, as well as legal and ethical evaluations of such use, must be informed by our best understanding of the insights that empirical evidence can provide on the effectiveness of strikes and the costs they impose on populations where they occur.

“Drone Strike -- Analyzing the Impacts of Targeted Killing offers a thorough and nuanced assessment of one of the most important instruments in the war on terror: the use of armed drones to kill terrorist leaders. Examining effects ranging from deaths of civilians to Al Qaeda's leadership cohesion, Mitt Regan’s balanced answers will please neither drone's champions nor critics, but they should inform when and how policymakers use drones in the years to come.” (—Daniel Byman, Professor, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Center for Middle East Policy.)

“Are drone strikes worth their costs? Mitt Regan offers penetrating, yet accessible reflections on the qualitative and quantitative methods that scholars have used to understand the consequences of the Israeli and U.S. targeted killing programs, carefully analyses their findings, and articulates a nuanced, but precise answer to one of the most pressing questions of our time. This book is a rare meta-study, apt to inform legal and moral debates that too often proceed without solid empirical evidence. The book accomplishes what few books do: it brings novel findings to long-term students of the subject and concrete insight to policymakers in need of guidance.” (—Janina Dill, John G. Winant Associate Professor in U.S. Foreign Policy, University of Oxford; Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict)

“Do drone strikes work?  Will targeted killings help eliminate the scourge of terrorism?  These are simple questions that offer up no easy answers.  So let Professor Regan be your guide through a tangled web of empirical research and conflicting claims. The pages of this book will tell you what you need to know, but more importantly are honest about what we don’t know.  Regan has no political or philosophical agenda, just a refreshing commitment to the facts.  A must-read for students, policy-makers, and anyone who cares about the future face of warfare.” (—Jens Ohlin, Dean and Professor of Law, Cornell Law School)

“Drone Strike -- Analyzing the Impacts of Targeted Killing provides a rich vein of resources and analysis for exploring the full impacts of targeted strikes as a core instrument of counterterrorism and will be the go-to volume for scholars and practitioners seeking to understand how to assess the usefulness and future potential of such operations.” (—Laurie Blank, Clinical Professor of Law; Director, International Humanitarian Law Clinic, Emory Law School)

Mitt Regan is McDevitt Professor of Jurisprudence and Co-Director of the Center on National Security at Georgetown Law Center, and Senior Fellow at the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the US Naval Academy.