State of the Union 2013: Obama Says Congress Was Kept in the Loop on Drone Program

Impact

Though he doesn't specifically mention the U.S. Drone Program, President Obama acknowledges that the program has been veiled in secrecy. What is new is that he now appears to be claiming that Congress has been kept in the loop up to now.

 

Furthermore, the President seems to have promised to introduce new measures to bring a system of checks and balances into his Drone Program to keep him and the U.S. Government accountable for how it executes the "Kill List" and fight the War on Terror.

 

The President and Congress will work to create a new system of transparent or more transparent system to continue the work of the U.S. Drone Program.

 

What remains unseen is how this new open approach would work. The need to balance secrecy and transparency is noted, but not details or real clues are apparent.

 

This is a good step toward bringing accountability to the U.S. Drone Program and conforming to the U.S. Constitution. At least the President acknowledges that there is a problem with how the Drone Program has operated since the very begining and during his own administration.