‘OK, Fine. Shoot Him.’ Four Words That Heralded a Decade of Secret US Drone Killings

http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/11/03/ok-fine-shoot-him-four-words-that-heralded-a-decade-of-secret-us-drone-killings/




‘OK, Fine. Shoot Him.’ Four Words That Heralded a Decade of Secret US Drone Killings
by Chris Woods
Published on Saturday, November 3, 2012 by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually gets all the credit for the first US drone targeted killing beyond the conventional battlefield.

But it was the military which gave the final go-ahead to kill on November 3 2002.

Lt General Michael DeLong was at Centcom headquarters in Tampa, Florida when news came in that the CIA had found its target. The deputy commander made his way down to the UAV Room, showing live video feeds from a CIA Predator high above Marib province in Yemen.

~snip~

‘Tenet goes “You going to make the call?” And I said, “I’ll make the call.” He says, “This SUV over here is the one that has Ali in it.” I said, “OK, fine.” You know, “Shoot him.” They lined it up and shot it.’