In this shocking exposé of the US government's drone programme, bestselling author Jeremy Scahill and his colleagues at the investigative website The Intercept expose stunning new details about the secret assassination policy being carried out by America and her allies.When the US government discusses drone strikes publicly, it offers assurances that such operations are a more precise alternative to troops on the ground and are authorised only when an "imminent" threat is present and there is "near certainty" that the intended target will be killed. The implicit message on drone strikes from the Obama administration has been trust, but don't verify.The online magazine The Intercept exploded this secrecy when it obtained an extraordinary cache of secret documents, the most shocking of which are included in this book, that reveal how Washington's fourteen-year targeted killing campaign suffers from an overreliance on flawed intelligence, an apparently incalculable civilian toll, and an inability to extract potentially valuable intelligence from terror suspects. The Assassination Complex is a vital, urgent book which allows us to understand at last the circumstances under which the US government and her allies have granted themselves the right to sentence individuals to death without the established checks and balances of arrest, trial, and appeal.
Jeremy Scahill Book order (chronological)
Jeremy Scahill is an American investigative journalist and author whose work focuses on the use of private military companies. His incisive reporting uncovers hidden power structures and the global impact of these organizations. Scahill's style is marked by deep inquiry and a courageous willingness to expose uncomfortable truths. His writings prompt reflection on the ethical and political ramifications of the business of war.
In this story, Jeremy Scahill documents the new paradigm of American war: fought far from any declared battlefield, by units that do not officially exist, in thousands of operations a month that are never publicly acknowledged. From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia and beyond, Scahill speaks to CIA agents, mercenaries and elite Special Operations Forces who populate the many covert wars America is fighting.
An extraordinary expos by one of America's young radical journalists, this is the dark story of the rise of a powerful mercenary army, ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, where Blackwater executives are hailed as heroes.