The U.S. targeted killing programme represents the return of the Kriegsraison doctrine, which argues that ‘necessity knows no law’ and sublimates human dignity to state security. In its disregard for state sovereignty and in its refusal to observe the relevant rules of international humanitarian and human rights law, the United States’ targeted killing programme undoubtedly represents an assault against human dignity, both against the dignity of those purposefully targeted and those killed ‘accidentally’ in strikes, either as a result of misidentification or in a strike ‘gone awry’. Yet dignity has received surprisingly little attention in discussions of the targeted killing programme. In addressing this gap, this paper will examine the various ways in which human dignity is called into question in the targeted killing programme, whether that be through the manifestation of actual physical violence against targeted persons or through the giving of ‘condolence payments’ to the relatives of civilians killed in strikes. Furthermore, in utilising a critical approach to international law, the paper will also consider how the targeted killing programme highlights the imperial characteristics of the Kriegsraison doctrine, the resurrection of which reflects attempts to introduce a transnational regime for the use of inter-state force and the re-imposition of a colonial international law framework which undermines the pursuit of dignity for affected individuals and communities.