Nation national security correspondent Jeremy Scahill appeared on Democracy Now! to talk about his film Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield, which was shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an Oscar this week. Dirty Wars takes a critical look at the US targeted killing campaign in Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia and beyond. Scahill also dismissed a plan announced by the Obama administration in July to narrow the scope of its killing program. “It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors,” Scahill said, arguing that Obama and his team have set a precedent of pre-emptive war for future presidents. —Steven Hsieh