Analyzing the Disposition Matrix

     In the 20^th century, the wars we fought in were not against high-value target enemies; rather, our conventional wars were fought against a common enemy.  Countries battled countries in attempts to use warfare as a means for political gains.  Although we still have boots on the ground in Afghanistan and have not given up many aspects of more traditional warfare, there has been an evident shift in doctrine as to what are priorities are in combat.  As a result of advances in technology and the increasingly relied upon ability to execute surgical drone strikes, it has become evident that the goals of the Obama Administration and counterterrorism today have shifted towards eliminating high value targets and circumventing the need to win on the ground.  The disposition matrix has come under fire for its controversial database for determining what constitutes a high value target, and has been described colloquially as a next generation kill list.

     I believe that the rhetoric used to describe the disposition matrix might carry an excessively negative connotation.  The term ‘kill list’ is political in that it sort of demonizes counterterrorist actions.  There are countless problems with the unregulated use of drone warfare, most notably the high incidence of noncombatant casualties.  That being said, the disposition matrix, in the most idealistic sense, is a method for avoiding dangerous combat situations for our soldiers and Marines who are fighting an enemy who may potentially be rendered ineffective if their leadership is targeted.  Granted, the War on Terror has proven that despite the amount of leadership in Al Qaida and the Taliban we kill, there are always more radicalized figureheads who assume the roles their deceased predecessors once held.  However, in the perfect world, if we shift our attention towards attacking only those who are at the helm of terrorist activity, I believe that is a step in the right direction.  Unfortunately, this means there is likely no end in the near future to the use of targeted killing, but if the focus on collecting accurate intelligence can reduce the amount of casualties in surgical strikes, then perhaps some good can come of the new strategy of the disposition matrix.  Remember, Bin Laden was our most highly valued target, and the death of him alone was an enormous victory for us, more notable than the vast number of combatants killed in action.