BY POLLY MANN
It’s called the “Disposition Matrix” or “PPG,’’ a guide released in May 2013, describing the U.S. government’s use of drones to assassinate undesirables. It contains the names of terrorism suspects, including sealed indictments and clandestine operations; when strikes may be used against terrorist targets; where there is a near certainty that non-combatants will not be injured or killed; and when the target poses a continuing imminent threat to U.S. citizens. Despite new details of the program that have been revealed, the American Civil Liberties Union is skeptical. Its staff attorney says “too much remains secret, including where the PPG actually applies, what its general standards mean in practice, and how evidence shows that those standards have been met—plus who the government is killing and where. For the last four years the New York Times has waged a legal battle against the Obama Administration, seeking to reveal what legal justification the government has for assassinating terror suspects without a trial but has been the loser in the battle.”
It appears that these unlawful assassinations will continue.
