On September 18, the resolution for Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) was signed by the President, after being passed by Congress. This authorized the President to use “all necessary and appropriate force against those individuals he deemed responsible for the September 11th attacks.”
In the first known US targeted assassination using a drone, a CIA Predator struck a car in Yemen, killing 6 people.
Strongly critical of George W. Bush’s counter-terrorism policies, many expect increased transparency, clearer legal frameworks, and congressional oversight, among other promised policies like closing Guantamano Bay, under President-elect Barack Obama.
On May 2nd, Osama Bin Laden was killed by United States Navy SEALs in Abbottobad, Pakistan.
Covert drone strikes continued to be carried out, justified by more broadly defined "eminent terrorist threats" and Presidential Authority under Article
II of the U.S. Constitution.
To date, thousands have been killed in targetted strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Different sources estimate civilian casualties in the hundreds. The Obama Administration has proposed a new AUMF against the Islamic State, while other AUMFs and proposals to repeal existing AUMF's are also being considered by Congress.
Meanwhile, whistleblowers and the media have worked together to reveal the process by which drone strikes are carried out.