The Obama administration's use of unmanned drones is under intense scrutiny this week, culminating in the hearings to confirm new CIA director John Brennan, which begin this afternoon. Two drone skeptics, Omar Shakir, of the International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic at Stanford Law School, and co-author of the report Living Under Drones, and Zeke Johnson, director of Amnesty International's Security with Human Rights campaign, discuss the practice, and the leaked memo detailing the legal parameters by which drones could be used to target American citizens.

→Tune In: WNYC will stream live coverage of the Brennan hearings on our website beginning at 2:30pm today. Listen here.

Karen Greenberg, director of Fordham Law School’s Center on National Security, discusses the controversial legal theories behind the Obama Administration’s targeted killing program.

A 16-page memo obtained by NBC News was apparently the legal rationale for the killing of American citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki, an Al Qaeda operative. The memo is also the clearest statement yet of American policy on the use of drone aircraft.

Lev Grossman, senior writer for TIME, discusses his recent cover story on the rise of drone usage - both in military operations and domestically.

Trevor Aaronson talks about his investigation into how the FBI has, under the guise of engaging in counterterrorism since 9/11, built a network of more than 15,000 informants whose primary purpose is to infiltrate Muslim communities to create and facilitate phony terrorist plots so that the Bureau can then claim it is winning the war on terror. The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism reveals information about the FBI's paid informants and documents the methods the FBI uses to ensnare Muslims in terrorist plots.

Investigative journalist Ian Cobain argues that while the United Kingdom does not “participate in, solicit, encourage or condone” torture, when it’s faced with potential threats to national security, the rules change. His book A Secret History of Torture, shows how, from World War II to the War on Terror, the West has repeatedly and systematically resorted to torture, bending the law, and turning a blind eye. He draws on previously unseen official documents and the accounts of witnesses, victims and experts.

Mark Danner, frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and author of Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror, and A.O. Scott, New York Times chief film critic, discuss the film, the controversial torture scenes, and the experience of watching a film based on the recent past.

The European Court of Human Rights has now ruled that America's treatment of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen, "amounted to torture," and that his capture, kidnapping and disappearance violated the basic tenants of human rights. Jim Goldston, is a lawyer for el-Masri and is also the executive director of the Open Society Institute.

Mark Bowden, chronicler of our military and special forces, gives the account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. With access to key sources, he tells the story in The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden. Bowden describes the development of a new tactical strategy to fight al Qaeda, how the right weapon to go after bin Laden evolved, how intelligence led to a compound in Abbottabad, and how the Navy SEALS carried out their mission.

30 Issues in 30 Days is our election year series on the important issues facing the country this election year. Today: The status of relations between the U.S. and countries in the Middle East. Visit the 30 Issue home page for all the conversations.

30 Issues in 30 Days is our election year series on the important issues facing the country this election year. Today: Emerging issues of modern warfare and the near future of the U.S. military. Visit the 30 Issue home page for all the conversations.

Kurt Eichenwald recounts the first 500 days after 9/11, looking closely at the decisions, deceptions, and delusions of the 18 months that changed the world forever, as leaders raced to protect their citizens in the wake of 9/11. In 500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars, he moves from the Oval Office to Number 10 Downing Street, from Guantanamo Bay to the CIA headquarters, from the al-Qaeda training camps to the torture chambers of Egypt and Syria. He reveals new information from the terror wars, including never before reported details about warrantless wiretapping, the anthrax attacks and investigations, and conflicts between Washington and London.

A report from the New America Foundation has found that the Obama Administration has dramatically escalated its drone war in Yemen. Peter Bergen talks about the report’s findings and their regional implications.

Dan Klaidman, special correspondent for Newsweek and the author of Kill or Capture: The War on Terror and the Soul of the Obama Presidency, adds to the emerging details of President Obama’s personal involvement with “kill lists” and waging the “war on terror.”

Peter Bergen gives an account of the decade-long hunt for the world's most wanted man. In Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden—from 9/11 to Abbottabad, he gives new details of bin Laden’s flight after the defeat of the Taliban. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda.

On March 1, 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the CIA. It marked the end of one of the lengthiest terrorist manhunts in history. Josh Meyer, chief terrorism reporter for the Los Angeles Times, co-wrote "The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad" with Terry McDermott. He discusses the pursuit, detainment, and trial of the man he calls "the ghost of our times."

Jeremy Scahill, National Security Reporter for The Nation magazine, talks about the United States’ increasingly unpopular counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen.

Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the FBI’s secret intelligence operations. Enemies: A History of the FBI is the story of how presidents have used the FBI, and Weiner exposes the hidden history of America’s hundred-year war on terror, in which the FBI has fought against terrorists, spies, and anyone it deemed subversive.

For nearly a year, Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh has harshly responded to protesters opposing his government. However, as a long-time partner in America's war on terror, the 200 casualties and 100,000 displaced demonstrators have in large part been overlooked by the U.S. government. Saleh was severely burned in an attack on the presidential palace in June, and has been granted a visa to come to the U.S. for medical treatment.