December 7, 2011
Kill or Capture:
How Barack Obama Lost His War on Terror
Daniel Klaidman
Former Managing Editor, Newsweek; Visiting Journalism Professor, Princeton University
Kill or Capture:
How Barack Obama Lost His War on Terror
Daniel Klaidman
Former Managing Editor, Newsweek; Visiting Journalism Professor, Princeton University
Minutes of the 12th Meeting of the 70th Year
President Bob Varrin opened the twelfth meeting of the seventieth year of the Old Guard of Princeton at 10:15 A M. Don Edwards led the Invocation. Jim Deneen read the minutes of the previous meeting. One guest was introduced. Ninety-eight members were present.
Jack Reilly presented the list of prospective members, which had been distributed, and which will be voted on at next week's meeting. He also noted that Judith Applegate and Immanuel (Ike) Kohn are now Emeritus members.
Landon Jones introduced the speaker, Mr. Daniel Klaidman, who is currently a Visiting Professor of Journalism at the University. Mr. Klaidman earned his B.A. in History at Georgetown University, after which he became a reporter for Legal Times. Thereafter, he worked for Newsweek magazine, where he was Washington Bureau chief from 2001 to 2006, and later, Managing Editor. The title of his talk was "Kill or Capture: The War on Terrorism and the Soul of the Obama Presidency." Mr. Klaidman began with his comment: "Writing about current events is challenging, because the story is constantly changing." A case in point is the title of his soon-to-be-published book, which was also the original title for today's lecture: "Checkmate: How Obama Lost His War on Terror." That title was overtaken by news, because Obama in office has in fact conducted a strong policy and effective actions to combat terrorism.
However, Klaidman maintained that despite certain achievements, his basic perception of Obama has not changed, at least in terms of how the president has dealt with the various challenges. At the outset, Obama seemed vulnerable on national security issues: he was of the party of Eugene McCarthy who opposed the Vietnam War; he had no military service; and he was viewed by some as exotic, foreign, even Muslim. But as events transpired, there have been a multiplicity of actions by the President which display a strong stance against terrorism. For example, after Somali pirates captured the captain of an American vessel, Obama approved the risky rescue of the captain by Navy seals. Klaidman noted that while Obama does not micromanage, he is nonetheless deeply involved in such operations, including the later killing of Bin Laden; Obama approves the operations, and makes the final calls.
Mr. Klaidman then turned to the disparity between the image which Obama had projected as a candidate, and the way Obama has conducted him self as President. As candidate, he had said that he would be a transforma- tional President, who would restore constitutional values, close Guantanamo, end indefinite retention of suspects, move to civilian trials, and so on. And he
promised more transparency in the White House. And yet, said Klaidman, the politics remain as before; there is more continuity than change. Yes, Obama did ban torture, he did close down the secret CIA prisons, he did restore adherence to the U.S. Army Field Manual which endorses the Geneva Convention; and his Attorney General did investigate Bush era torture policies. But he failed to close Guantanamo. And when an effort to place the captured Chinese Uighur dissidents (who were not terrorists) was opposed by primarily Republican Cogressmen, Obama flinched, decided not to fight Congress on the matter and withdrew the plan.
The speaker then elaborated on the drone program, including the technological advances. Drone operators, working at CIA headquarters in Langley, can take out targets in Pakistan and be home for dinner in Virginia. Drones can hover and wait for the right moment to drop their deadly missiles.They can "go cold," and divert their missiles if a child or civilian is seen in the target field. So there-are safeguards and precautions. Nevertheless, as we all know, there's a continuing controversy regarding civilian casualties. Obama likes the drone program; he wants to avoid the reckless use of force, but the drone program is seen as an essential part of a targeted war on terror. John Brennan, the President's chief counterterrorism adviser, brings the planned operations to the president, and Obama approves them.
Mr. Klaidman's personal opinion seemed to be that the government needs to be more transparent about the drone program. And his overall thesis seemed to be that while Obama has conducted an effective program to deal with terrorism, he has moved away from the idealistic notions of transparency and constitutional and humanitarian restraint on which he had campaigned.
In summary, Mr. Klaidman showed that Obama in office has been nuanced and pragmatic. Moved by the force of events, he has had to move away from the idealistic soul of his campaign promises.
Following Mr. Klaidman's talk, there was a lively discussion period. Regarding the drone program, it was noted that the U.S. monopoly of this technology would not last forever. (And on the question of transparency, it seemed to many of us that greater publicity and transparency of the methods and aims of the drone program would be naive and unrealistic.)
Finally, in response to a question regarding the killing of Bin Laden, Mr. Klaidman indicated that the most likely plan was that Bin Laden would have to be killed rather than captured, because the latter option would likely have led to insurmountable problems regarding incarceration, trial, and so on.
Respectfully submitted,
Harvey Rothberg
Jack Reilly presented the list of prospective members, which had been distributed, and which will be voted on at next week's meeting. He also noted that Judith Applegate and Immanuel (Ike) Kohn are now Emeritus members.
Landon Jones introduced the speaker, Mr. Daniel Klaidman, who is currently a Visiting Professor of Journalism at the University. Mr. Klaidman earned his B.A. in History at Georgetown University, after which he became a reporter for Legal Times. Thereafter, he worked for Newsweek magazine, where he was Washington Bureau chief from 2001 to 2006, and later, Managing Editor. The title of his talk was "Kill or Capture: The War on Terrorism and the Soul of the Obama Presidency." Mr. Klaidman began with his comment: "Writing about current events is challenging, because the story is constantly changing." A case in point is the title of his soon-to-be-published book, which was also the original title for today's lecture: "Checkmate: How Obama Lost His War on Terror." That title was overtaken by news, because Obama in office has in fact conducted a strong policy and effective actions to combat terrorism.
However, Klaidman maintained that despite certain achievements, his basic perception of Obama has not changed, at least in terms of how the president has dealt with the various challenges. At the outset, Obama seemed vulnerable on national security issues: he was of the party of Eugene McCarthy who opposed the Vietnam War; he had no military service; and he was viewed by some as exotic, foreign, even Muslim. But as events transpired, there have been a multiplicity of actions by the President which display a strong stance against terrorism. For example, after Somali pirates captured the captain of an American vessel, Obama approved the risky rescue of the captain by Navy seals. Klaidman noted that while Obama does not micromanage, he is nonetheless deeply involved in such operations, including the later killing of Bin Laden; Obama approves the operations, and makes the final calls.
Mr. Klaidman then turned to the disparity between the image which Obama had projected as a candidate, and the way Obama has conducted him self as President. As candidate, he had said that he would be a transforma- tional President, who would restore constitutional values, close Guantanamo, end indefinite retention of suspects, move to civilian trials, and so on. And he
promised more transparency in the White House. And yet, said Klaidman, the politics remain as before; there is more continuity than change. Yes, Obama did ban torture, he did close down the secret CIA prisons, he did restore adherence to the U.S. Army Field Manual which endorses the Geneva Convention; and his Attorney General did investigate Bush era torture policies. But he failed to close Guantanamo. And when an effort to place the captured Chinese Uighur dissidents (who were not terrorists) was opposed by primarily Republican Cogressmen, Obama flinched, decided not to fight Congress on the matter and withdrew the plan.
The speaker then elaborated on the drone program, including the technological advances. Drone operators, working at CIA headquarters in Langley, can take out targets in Pakistan and be home for dinner in Virginia. Drones can hover and wait for the right moment to drop their deadly missiles.They can "go cold," and divert their missiles if a child or civilian is seen in the target field. So there-are safeguards and precautions. Nevertheless, as we all know, there's a continuing controversy regarding civilian casualties. Obama likes the drone program; he wants to avoid the reckless use of force, but the drone program is seen as an essential part of a targeted war on terror. John Brennan, the President's chief counterterrorism adviser, brings the planned operations to the president, and Obama approves them.
Mr. Klaidman's personal opinion seemed to be that the government needs to be more transparent about the drone program. And his overall thesis seemed to be that while Obama has conducted an effective program to deal with terrorism, he has moved away from the idealistic notions of transparency and constitutional and humanitarian restraint on which he had campaigned.
In summary, Mr. Klaidman showed that Obama in office has been nuanced and pragmatic. Moved by the force of events, he has had to move away from the idealistic soul of his campaign promises.
Following Mr. Klaidman's talk, there was a lively discussion period. Regarding the drone program, it was noted that the U.S. monopoly of this technology would not last forever. (And on the question of transparency, it seemed to many of us that greater publicity and transparency of the methods and aims of the drone program would be naive and unrealistic.)
Finally, in response to a question regarding the killing of Bin Laden, Mr. Klaidman indicated that the most likely plan was that Bin Laden would have to be killed rather than captured, because the latter option would likely have led to insurmountable problems regarding incarceration, trial, and so on.
Respectfully submitted,
Harvey Rothberg