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The use of unmanned aerial vehicles or "drones," as part of the United States' (US) targeted killing (TK) program dramatically increased after the War on Terror (WoT) was declared. With the ambiguous nature and parameters of the WoT, and stemming from the postulation of numerous low-level, niche-, and other securitizations producing a monolithic threat, US drone operations now constitute a vital stitch in the extensive fabric of US counterterrorism policy. This article employs the theories of securitization and macro-securitization as discussed by Buzan (1991, 2006), and Buzan and Wæver (2009) to understand targeted killing, by means of weaponized drones, as an extraordinary measure according to the Copenhagen School's interpretation. An overarching securitization and the use of the "security" label warrants the emergency action of targeted killing through the use of drones as an extraordinary measure. We argue that the WoT serves as a means of securitizing global terrorism as a threat significant enough to warrant the use of drone warfare as an extraordinary use of force. By accepting the WoT as a securitization process we can reasonably accept that the US' response(s) against that threat are also securitized and therefore become extraordinary measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligence sharing within the ISAF structure was an issue in the Afghan Theatre of Operations (ATO). It has been accepted that improvements are needed within the American intelligence structures, however contributing state caveats played a role in creating this situation. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) consisted of 46 contributing countries, with 28 of them being NATO members. It is evident that counterinsurgency operations are here to stay even with the ISAF drawdown in Afghanistan. Globalized terrorism still remains one of the key threats in NATO strategic planning. In January 2013, French forces intervened in the Malian conflict to support regional African troops by reversing the gains of the Tuareg rebellion that was hijacked by militant Islamist insurgent groups. Although it was not a NATO-sanctioned mission, French forces were supported by European Union members, Canada and the United States. EU members continued to assist in the training of Malian government forces, while the United States provided intelligence support and Canada provided strategic airlift capabilities. NATO, under the Connected Forces Initiative, is moving from operational engagement to operational readiness through an increase in exercises and measures that aim to improve interoperability. If there is anything to be learned from the Afghan and Libyan deployments, it is that NATO intelligence sharing potentially could be the proverbial Achilles Heel of the Alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]