Kill Chain: Drone and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins - Hardcover

Andrew Cockburn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781689466 ISBN 13: 9781781689462

Publisher: Verso Books; edition (2015-08-01), 2015

Synopsis

An essential and page-turning narrative on the history of drone warfare by the acclaimed author of Rumsfeld, exploring how this practice emerged, who made it happen, and the real consequences of targeted killing.

Assassination by drone is a subject of deep and enduring fascination. Yet few understand how and why this has become our principal way of waging war. Kill Chain uncovers the real and extraordinary story; its origins in long-buried secret programs, the breakthroughs that made drone operations possible, the ways in which the technology works and, despite official claims, does not work. Taking the reader inside the well-guarded world of national security, the book reveals the powerful interests - military, CIA and corporate - that have led the drive to kill individuals by remote control.

Most importantly of all, the book describes what has really happened when the theories underpinning the strategy -- and the multi-billion dollar contracts they spawn -- have been put to the test. Drawing on sources deep in the military and intelligence establishments, Andrew Cockburn's Kill Chain unveils the true effects, as demonstrated by bloody experience, of assassination warfare, a revelation that readers will find surprising as well as shocking.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Cockburn is the Washington Editor of Harper's Magazine and the author of many articles and books on national security, including the New York Times Editor's Choice Rumsfeld and The Threat. He is a regular opinion contributor to the Los Angeles Times and has written for, among others, the New York Times, National Geographic and the London Review of Books.

Review

Praise for Rumsfeld "A compelling case for regarding Rumsfeld as the single greatest villain of the Bush presidency." Alexander Chancellor, Daily Telegraph "A brisk and at times tragi-comic polemic that could serve as a case study for what is wrong with American government ... Cockburn's trenchant analysis of Rumfeld's career is a cogent reminder why few in Washington are mourning his long-overdue departure." Andrew Stephen, Observer "A superb portrait of a shameful man." Herald (Glasgow) "Perceptive and engrossing." International Herald Tribune "A timely and important book." Oldie "Cockburn's devastating dissection ... delivers his findings with wit and flair." Metro "Cockburn is ... an assiduous investigator and skillful narrator." Foreign Affairs Sharp-eyed and disturbing, especially Cockburn's concluding assessment that, nourished by an unending flow of money, 'the assassination machine is here to stay.' Kirkus "A compellingly readable book that not only tells us why drones cannot live up to the overblown expectation of politicians but lucidly explains the vulnerability of intelligence, either robotic or human, better than any book I have ever read." - Edward Jay Epstein, author of Deception: The Invisible War Between the KGB and the CIA "This brilliant book tells us how computers kill soldiers and civilians, and explains with bone-chilling clarity how generalship gave way to microchips from Vietnam to Afghanistan. A blood-curdling account of the rise of robot warfare, a great story, and a prophecy to be read and heeded." - Tim Weiner, author of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA "In this riveting book, Cockburn puts the reader in the pilot's seat as kill teams go on their deadly hunts before dashing home for their children's soccer games. Wrapped in enormous secrecy, the only way past the armed guards and cipher-locks and into this new world of Hellfire diplomacy is Cockburn's great new read. Rather than voter IDs, people should prove they have read this book before being allowed to vote in the next election." - James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America "In this first-rate history, Andrew Cockburn takes readers from the Pentagon's mainframe-driven dreams of the Vietnam War era through today's visions of stealth super-drones, exposing the dark realities of twenty-first-century robotic warfare. Richly informative, superbly researched, and utterly illuminating, Kill Chain shines much-needed light on the shadowy theories and theorists, secret military and intelligence programs, and classified technologies that spawned our current age of remote-controlled assassination." - Nick Turse, author of Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam. "Persuasive, punchy and revelatory" - Irish Times

Edition details

• Publisher: Verso Books; edition (2015-08-01)
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1781689466
• ISBN 13: 9781781689462
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 310