WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior administration official says President Barack Obama has directed the Justice Department to provide congressional intelligence committees access to classified information providing the legal rationale for drone strikes against al-Qaida-linked American citizens.
The official says the classified advice from the Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel backs up an unclassified “white paper” from the department that key lawmakers received last year. Several lawmakers have pressed the White House for more information on how decisions are made to target U.S. citizens abroad.
The unclassified memo says it is legal for the government to kill U.S. citizens abroad if it believes they are senior al-Qaida leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans.
The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Where is the outrage from the peace activists—imagine if this was under George W. Bush’s watch.
I don’t think the document painted such a rosy picture as in the above story. It clearly was ambiguous and wide open. It did not specify foreign territory, that you had to be linked to al-Qaida, and it certainly didn’t say government. The way I read it, it was the presidents call, and maybe the upper most cabinet members call. It also included “anti-american” groups a.k.a. government labeled “terrorist groups”. I’m sorry, but the most transparent government just got a lot more Bush on us. NDAA, now this? and this is only what we hear about!
Heard about this from BBC many moons ago.
The most horrible part is the US government has every right, since it does not completely override the Constitution. SO, before you want to send your son or daughter into the military you may want to remember they are only pawns in a MUCH larger game of power.
Just another way the government is violating our guaranteed rights. The constitution was meant to restrain government not the people. With our law suits and pushing religious or personal beliefs we have empowered our elected officials to turn our nation in to a dictatorship. Tyranny always begins with the promise of freedom
Under the constitution an act of treason had always carried a punishment of death.