This book is an illuminating study tracing the evolution of drone technology and counterterrorism policy from the Reagan to the Obama administrations. The book uncovers the history of the most important instrument of U.S. counterterrorism today: the armed drone. It reveals that, contrary to popular belief, the CIA's covert drone program is not a product of 9/11. Rather, it is the result of U.S. counterterrorism practices extending back to an influential group of policy makers in the Reagan administration. Tracing the evolution of counterterrorism policy and drone technology from the fallout of ... More

This book is an illuminating study tracing the evolution of drone technology and counterterrorism policy from the Reagan to the Obama administrations. The book uncovers the history of the most important instrument of U.S. counterterrorism today: the armed drone. It reveals that, contrary to popular belief, the CIA's covert drone program is not a product of 9/11. Rather, it is the result of U.S. counterterrorism practices extending back to an influential group of policy makers in the Reagan administration. Tracing the evolution of counterterrorism policy and drone technology from the fallout of Iran-Contra and the CIA's “Eagle Program” prototype in the mid-1980s to the emergence of al-Qaeda, the book shows how George W. Bush and Barack Obama built upon or discarded strategies from the Reagan and Clinton eras as they responded to changes in the partisan environment, the perceived level of threat, and technological advances. Examining a range of counterterrorism strategies, the book reveals why the CIA's drones became the United States' preferred tool for pursuing the decades-old goal of preemptively targeting anti-American terrorists around the world.