Writers LIVE: Scott Shane, Objective Troy: A Terrorist, a President, and the Rise of the Drone

Objective Troy tells the story of Anwar al-Awlaki, the once-celebrated American imam who called for moderation after 9/11, a man who ultimately directed his outsized talents to the mass murder of his fellow citizens. It follows Barack Obama's campaign against the excesses of the Bush counterterrorism programs and his eventual embrace of the targeted killing of suspected militants. And it recounts how the president directed the mammoth machinery of spy agencies to hunt Awlaki down in a frantic, multi-million dollar pursuit that would end with the death of Awlaki by a bizarre, robotic technology that is changing warfare -- the drone.Scott Shane is a national security reporter for the New York Times based in Washington, DC. From 1983 to 2004, he was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Monday, September 21, 2015