After the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11,2001 on New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania which resulted in the unprecedented destruction of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the murder of several thousand people from eighty-seven countries, President George W. Bush proclaimed a national emergency and issued an executive order which for the first time in United States history permits the government to hold and prosecute by military commission stateless members of a terrorist organization in an undeclared war. The study examines the nature and purpose of military...

This book assesses President Barack Obama's counterterrorism policy as it evolved throughout his presidency, from the expanded use of drones to the controversial decisions regarding the Syrian conflict. President Obama has achieved the dubious distinction of having been the longest continuous war president in American history, and this title explores how Obama pursued and expanded executive war power in key areas, simultaneously committing to a light footprint approach for U.S. military forces and emphasizing the use of drones, targeted killing of terrorists, and training, advising, and...