462 Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos Núm. 2 / 2013 posing a threat to the country’s security. Following the discussion, a list of names is drawn up and signed by the President. This lists those who will be the target of a missile fired by one of these devices when the right moment arrives. No specific information as to the methods used to draft this list of names has emerged. • The people named on these lists also include those whose conduct could suggest membership of a terrorist organisation that poses a threat to the security of the United States (Al Qaeda or its associates). To this end, these people are investigated (telephone tapping, tracking etc.) in order to determine “patterns of behaviour” leading to the supposition that they belong to one of these organisations. This means, according to Grégoire Chamayou, that “reports based on the activity” of a person may indicate that “their actions have made it clear, over time, that they represent a threat”51, for which reason they may be eliminated. Ultimately, once the target has been selected and the time is right, a missile is fired without the distance thereto being of any consequence. 4.3. The “new” US strategy as part of its fight against terrorism. The speech President Obama gave on 23 May 2013 at the National Defense University has been interpreted as a turning point in the counter-terrorism policy of his administration as defined in the aforementioned 2011 National Strategy for Counterterrorism. This is the case to a certain degree; nevertheless, the essence remains unchanged, as the reader will soon see. The President’s speech hinges on his main achievement, the death of Osama bin Laden, the highest leader of Al Qaeda52. It also declares that the United States is winning its war against this organisation: “Al Qaeda (…) is on the path to defeat. Their remaining operatives spend more time thinking about their own safety than plotting against us”53. Nonetheless, the threat certainly remains54 (it should be noted that at the time the speech was given, the attack on the Boston marathon on 15 April 2013 was still very fresh in people’s minds) and the United States will continue to fight it: 51 CHAMAYOU, Grégoire: Théorie du drone, Paris: Éditions La Fabrique, 2013, pp. 76-77. 52 “For President Obama (…), having put an end to Osama bin Laden’s life is a success” (REINARES, F.: “El contraterrorismo del presidente Obama…” cit., p. 1. 53 Remarks by the President at the National Defense University, pp. 1-5, p. 2 (www.whitehouse.gov, Briefing Room tab; last accessed 15 September 2013). 54 “But we have to recognize that the threat has shifted and evolved (…) since 9/11.” (Remarks by the President… cit. p. 1.)
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