Obama delivered his remarks less than one day after allowing his Attorney General, Eric Holder, to publish a previously classified report on the number of Americans that have been killed by drone strikes overseas since 2009. That report showed that three of those Americans were not necessarily being directly targeted by the U.S., a suggestion of collateral damage. Obama insisted that in the case of American who was targeted, Muslim cleric Anwar al-Aulawki, the administration considered all other options of bringing him to justice, and briefed Congress, before deciding in 2011 to launch a drone strike against him while he was in Yemen. Read more here.

The president discussed Afghanistan, Benghazi, and ongoing investigations of national security news leaks, while questioning the concept of the “global war on terror” that has prevailed since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Read more here.

WASHINGTON – Buzzfeed reports that before the last election, key members of President Obama’s national security team pushed to release a comprehensive timeline of events documenting the Benghazi attacks, that would also get all agencies’ views into one report. The CIA was in favor, too . But the White House counsel’s office, led by Kathryn Ruemmler, advised the officials not to release any information to the public out of fear it could be used against them in any subsequent investigations and other legal complications.

Sources told Buzzfeed that the legal advice was frustrating, because they thought they could have put the controversy to rest.  ”It was aggravating,” one official said.

A new Fox News poll finds 63 percent of voters want to keep the detention facility known as Gitmo open, while 28 percent say it should be closed and the terrorist suspects moved to federal prisons in the United States.  Read more here.

In his special report, Reforming U.S. Drone Strike Policies, Zenko argues that these policies may be creating a “blowback” effect by radicalizing local populations and increasing the number of terrorists full stop. While it is always difficult to determine motivations for insurgencies and terrorist organizations, Zenko notes that, for example,  “there appears to be a strong correlation in Yemen between increased targeted killings since December 2009 and heightened anger toward the United States and sympathy with or allegiance to [al-Qaeda].”

In a CFR Policy Innovation Memorandum, Zenko recommends that President Obama transfer drone strike authority from the CIA to the Defense Department. He argues that U.S. drone strikes lack transparency because they are controlled by two separate entities: the DOD’s Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA.

“To take a meaningful first step toward greater transparency, President Barack Obama should sign a directive that consolidates lead executive authority for planning and conducting nonbattlefield targeted killings under DOD.”

The revelation comes a day before President Obama is scheduled to deliver a major speech involving his administration’s counter-terrorism policy. Read more here.

Sgt. Michael McClendon was charged on May 14 “under four articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for indecent acts, dereliction in the performance of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, and actions prejudicial to good order and discipline,” according to the Times.