The White House has released Obama's drone strike 'playbook'

President Obama released a redacted version of his administration's "playbook" for drone strikes Saturday in response to a successful Freedom of Information Act suit from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The 18-page Presidential Policy Guidance document details the rules the Obama White House has followed since 2013, which require the president to personally approve drone strikes that target people outside combat zones, permanent U.S. residents, and anyone about whom "there is a lack of consensus" among agency heads.

Only "near certainty" that the targeted individual is at the targeted location is required to launch a strike, a point sure to be highlighted by critics of U.S. drone warfare. The Obama administration claimed in July that 116 civilians or fewer have been killed by American drones, but independent tallies suggest that estimation is far too low.

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The next president will be under no legal obligation to be limited by these guidelines, though the White House has indicated its hope that the framework will be preserved.