For years, US drone strikes were the exclusive purview of the CIA, putting them in the realm of extrajudicial assassinations, and the shift toward the Pentagon running the show was initially seen as a significant step toward accountability and abiding by the laws of war.

It hasn't worked out that way. Rather, some lawmakers as well as some CIA officials are warning that the transition has reduced what accountability there was, effectively eliminating Congressional scrutiny of individual strikes.

Congressional oversight of the drone war was limited even when the CIA was doing it, but it appears misplaced faith in the Pentagon to "do things different" had reduced a lot of the interest in keeping an eye on them, and unlike the CIA the military doesn't have a legal requirement to disclose individual drone strikes to Congress.