Abstract
The issue of targeted government killing of U.S. citizens within the national territory garnered an intense burst of attention earlier this year when Senator Rand Paul staged a memorable thirteen-hour filibuster during the John Brennan confirmation hearings. The prospect that the government might “kill Americans on American soil” resonated; in fact, it became a raging meme and a source of political panic that galvanized both right and left. Using this Rand Paul filibuster episode as a launching point, my comments address the structure of prevailing normative and legal thought on the subject of status, location, and perceived ethical standing. I conclude that presence in the territory still matters for citizens and citizenship more than conventional accounts tend to recognize.