On the recordMay 17, 2012
I thank the author of the amendment, and I join with him in it because, ladies and gentlemen, the administration policy up till now has been quite clear: drones pursue specific individuals who appear on a target list maintained by the CIA and initiate attacks only when drone operators are confident that the individual being targeted is a terrorist on that list. What this amendment attempts to ensure is that the missile strikes being used by the CIA or the Joint Special Operations Command are targeting actual terrorists that pose a threat to our national security and not against civilians who may look suspicious to a drone operator operating thousands of miles away. What I am saying is merely that a new and expanded drone policy that allows for indiscriminate missile strikes against supposedly suspicious individuals obviously increases the risk of civilian death and risks inflaming an already powerful anti-American sentiment abroad. Ladies and gentlemen, this policy will not make us any safer. It will do just the opposite. I encourage my colleagues to support our amendment so that the Congress ensures that accountability and a measure of precision and due process are retained as critical components of our country's drone policy.
