The White House's top terror adviser says the US will keep targeting Al-Qaeda anywhere in the world, including in countries unable or unwilling to do it themselves. White House counterterror chief John Brennan laid out what could be called the Osama Bin Laden raid doctrine, in remarks Friday at Harvard Law School. He says under international law, the US can protect itself with pre-emptive action against suspects the US believes present an imminent threat, wherever they are. That amounts to a legal defense of the unilateral Navy SEAL raid into Pakistan that killed Al-Qaeda mastermind bin Laden in May, angering Pakistan. Brennan says the US prefers to work with countries where the targets hide, and also prefers to capture, not kill suspects, whenever possible. The US will keep targeting Al-Qaeda anywhere in the world, including in countries unable or unwilling to do it themselves, the top US counterterror official said Friday. White House counterterror chief John Brennan laid out what could be called the Osama Bin Laden raid doctrine, in remarks at Harvard Law School. He says under international law, the US can protect itself with pre-emptive action against suspects the US believes present an imminent threat, wherever they are. That amounts to a legal defense of the unilateral Navy SEAL raid into Pakistan that killed Al-Qaeda mastermind Bin Laden in May, angering Pakistan. It also explains the thinking behind other covert counterterrorist action, like the CIA's armed drone campaign that only this week killed a top Al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan's tribal areas. The Obama administration has quadrupled drone strikes against Al-Qaeda targets since taking office.
