Arming a drone in Kandahar, Afghanistan, March 2016
Josh Smith / Reuters

American soldiers may now be out of Afghanistan, but the U.S. military and intelligence services are not. As President Joe Biden has made clear, the United States will continue conducting drone strikes in Afghanistan to weed out enemies. “We will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries,” Biden declared at the end of August, explaining his decision to withdraw forces. “We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities”—including drones—“which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground.”

The president’s plan might seem logical, or even necessary. A number of

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