Alberto Gonzales and Me on Oversight for Targeted Killing

Whatever folks think about the continuing utility (vel non) of student-edited law reviews, sometimes, they can produce some pretty interesting exchanges. Thus, today, the George Washington Law Review has published a long article by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, titled “Drones: The Power to Kill,” and a response by yours truly, titled “Targeted Killing and Judicial Review.” Via the Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has a thoughtful summary of Judge Gonzales’s article, which, perhaps surprisingly, calls for more oversight and accountability for U.S. targeted killing operations overseas–at least where U.S. citizens are the target. My reply largely agrees with Judge Gonzales that more oversight and accountability are needed, although we disagree rather categorically about both why that is so, and how it can best be achieved.