Disposition Matrix

The Disposition Matrix, informally known as a kill list, is a database of information for tracking, capturing, rendering, or killing suspected enemies of the United States federal government. Developed by the Obama administration beginning in 2010, the "Disposition Matrix" goes beyond existing kill lists and is intended to become a permanent fixture of U.S. policy. The process determining criteria for killing is not public and was heavily shaped by National Counterterrorism Director and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John O. Brennan.

Though White House, National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and CIA spokespeople have declined to comment on the database, officials have stated privately that kill lists will expand "for at least another decade", if not indefinitely. One official stated "it’s a necessary part of what we do".Paul R. Pillar, the former deputy director of the CIA’s counterterrorism center, has stated, "We are looking at something that is potentially indefinite".

The database's existence was revealed in a three-part series published by The Washington Post newspaper. It noted that as of their publication, the number of civilian and militant casualties resulting from U.S. drone strikes would soon exceed the number of people killed in the September 11 attacks.

"We can’t possibly kill everyone who wants to harm us... It’s a necessary part of what we do. . . . We’re not going to wind up in 10 years in a world of everybody holding hands and saying, ‘We love America.’"

The creation of the Disposition Matrix database is part of an effort embraced by U.S. Homeland Security adviser John O. Brennan to codify the targeted killing policies developed by President Barack Obama. Under the George W. Bush administration, Brennan served as top aide to CIA director George Tenet, where he defended the administration's use of extraordinary rendition, enhanced interrogation and torture by definition according to international standards. Brennan's association with the CIA's interrogation program was controversial and forced him to withdraw his candidacy for directorship of the CIA or National Intelligence in 2008.

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