“They are just covering their ass…” The war on terrorism is being run by lawyers — “The United States has for some time been prepared for a war where achieving moral superiority is as important as military victory. The aim is to conduct an “ethical” war. But not quite up to programming a “smart” bomb with the appropriate theological dimension, they have settled for a very American solution: lawyers.

Every time a commander at headquarters selects a target there is a judge advocate general by his side to assess the ethical merits of the strike. This is a development in practice since the Gulf war.” Guardian UK