Tagged: National Security

In recent months, there have been bipartisan calls for more transparency in the Obama administration's drone program. Host Rachel Martin talks with Gregory McNeal, a professor of national security law at Pepperdine University's School of Law, about proposals to bring more openness and accountability. One idea is the creation of a "drone court" that would review decisions to target and kill suspected militants.

When the Pentagon said earlier this year that it would open ground combat jobs to women, it was cast in terms of giving women equal opportunities in the workplace — the military workplace.

But the move has practical considerations, too. The military needs qualified people to fill its ranks, and it's increasingly harder to find them among men.

The responsibility for counterterrorism operations involving unmanned drones could soon begin shifting from the CIA to the Pentagon as part of Obama administration efforts to mollify critics who say the program lacks transparency, says NPR's Tom Gjelten.

A senior U.S. official tells NPR that while no decision has been made, the change is a "distinct possibility." The Daily Beast broke the story on Wednesday.