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Last spring, amid increasing controversy over U.S. targeted killings, President Obama assuaged the concerns of legislators and citizens by signaling his intention to shift control of most drone strikes from the CIA to the Department of Defense. "The move could potentially toughen the criteria for drone strikes, strengthen the program’s accountability, and increase transparency," Daniel Klaidman wrote in a piece representative of the favorable coverage the proposal received.

Senior Obama Administration officials were anonymously touting the reform as "a big deal." And John Brennan was portrayed as one of its principled champions:

The policy shift is part of a larger White House initiative known internally as “institutionalization,” an effort to set clear standards and procedures for lethal operations. More than a year in the works, the interagency process has been driven and led by John Brennan, who until he became CIA director earlier this month was Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser. Brennan, who has presided over the administration’s drone program from almost day one of Obama’s presidency, has grown uncomfortable with the ad hoc and sometimes shifting rules that have governed it. Moreover, Brennan has publicly stated that he would like to see the CIA move away from the kinds of paramilitary operations it began after the September 11 attacks, and return to its more traditional role of gathering and analyzing intelligence.

John Brennan is now director of the CIA. The secretive intelligence agency, with its institutional history of abusing "license to kill," is still operating lethal drones. Yet again, an Obama promise about reforming the War on Terror is unfulfilled. But this week, it became clear that members of the executive branch, including the shape-shifting Brennan, aren't the only culprits keeping drones at the CIA. Congress is playing an active role too. Even more disturbing, a majority of legislators attempted to tie Obama's hands in secret. Their behavior ought to be a scandal. Their illegitimate use of official secrecy undermines democracy.