President Obama on Thursday discussed the use of drones, the closing of Guantanamo Bay and other issues related to American security during a speech at National Defense University.Charlie Dunlap Jr.Professor of the practice, Duke Law School; executive director of Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security.dunlap@law.duke.eduhttp://www.law.duke.edu/fac/dunlap Dunlap specializes in warfare policy and strategy, cyber-warfare, military commissions, counterinsurgency, nuclear issues and air power; he's a former deputy judge advocate general of the U.S. Air Force; retired from military in June 2010 as a major general. Quote: "The president's speech did much to clarify U.S. policy, but will not likely silence his most vociferous critics on either end of the political spectrum. "On the right, some may argue, for example, that a policy which 'heavily constrains' the use of drones beyond the Afghan theater will simply encourage terrorists to accelerate their movement into a variety of vulnerable countries in the belief the policy makes them safer there. That could create a whole set of new problems for U.S. foreign policy. "Others will point to the policy requirement for 'near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured' before a drone strike is authorized as a restraint not imposed by international law and something that will simply encourage terrorists to surround themselves with innocent civilians in order to ward off attacks. "For its part, the left will no doubt will be upset that drones strikes will continue in any form, regardless of policy constraints. "Still, the speech was a positive step forward that will resonate with those whose minds are still open about American counterterrorism polices." _ _ _ _ Duke experts on a variety of other topics can be found at http://newsoffice.duke.edu/resources-media/faculty-experts.
