| DOJ to use lethal force in targeted killings of Americans overseas | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 4 2012, 11:23 PM (197 Views) | |
| Kerri P. | Mar 4 2012, 11:23 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/10812473/ AP source: AG Holder to address targeted killings Posted: 9:44 p.m. today Updated: 43 minutes ago WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to outline the legal framework for the use of lethal force in targeted killings of Americans overseas in a major speech at Northwestern University law school, an Obama administration official said Sunday night. Holder's speech Monday comes five months after the killing of U.S.-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in a drone attack. The official said the attorney general plans to say that lethal force is legal under a Sept. 18, 2001, joint congressional resolution. The Authorization for Use of Military Force enacted a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks authorizes the use of all necessary force in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States. The official said Holder also will address how the Obama administration reformed military commissions and how both the Obama and the George W. Bush administrations have successfully used civilian courts to convict and sentence terrorists. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the contents of the speech haven't been released. In recent months, the Obama administration has engaged in an internal debate about how much to reveal about the legal justification for the al-Awlaki killing. At least three recently filed lawsuits have sought to force the Obama administration to publicly release its legal justification for the drone strike that killed al-Awlaki. The justification is contained in a secret Justice Department memo. The administration has provided some details about what al-Awlaki was doing that made him so dangerous to the United States. In that vein, the Justice Department disclosed that a Nigerian man who tried to blow up an international flight on Christmas 2009 told FBI agents that his mission was approved after a three-day visit with al-Awlaki. The man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was sentenced last month to life in prison after admitting he attempted to blow up the plane with a bomb in his underwear as the plane approached Detroit. |
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| kbp | Mar 5 2012, 10:51 AM Post #2 |
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I guess the 2 candidates to explain it are Barry and Holder. Since Barry is running for office and Holder is sinking, the latter was best to use in providing this story. I had not seen many press reports on this topic, so I wonder why they're even addressing it to the public? |
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| Toast | Mar 5 2012, 07:31 PM Post #3 |
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Oh, I'm sure they have a very specific reason. Isn't everything they do orchestrated? Time will tell, and probably sooner than later. |
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| Kerri P. | Mar 5 2012, 07:32 PM Post #4 |
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http://news.yahoo.com/holder-speak-targeted-killings-americans-192324573--abc-news.html Holder: When War on Terror Targets Americans ABC News – 5 hrs ago To kill or not to kill? Under what conditions can or should the United States government target and kill -- without trial -- a U.S. citizen suspected of plotting terrorism? Attorney General Eric Holder today provided the most detailed terms to date on the legal principals behind the U.S. drone campaign and the U.S. government's legal authority to target and kill U.S. citizens such as Anwar al-Awlaki, a suspected high-profile al Qaeda recruiter. "Let me be clear: An operation using lethal force in a foreign country, targeted against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al Qaeda or associated forces, and who is actively engaged in planning to kill Americans, would be lawful at least in the following circumstances: First, the U.S. government has determined, after a thorough and careful review, that the individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States; second, capture is not feasible; and third, the operation would be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable law of war principles," Holder said his speech at the Northwestern University Law School. "The evaluation of whether an individual presents an 'imminent threat' incorporates considerations of the relevant window of opportunity to act, the possible harm that missing the window would cause to civilians, and the likelihood of heading off future disastrous attacks against the United States." "Some have called such operations 'assassinations.' They are not, and the use of that loaded term is misplaced. Assassinations are unlawful killings," Holder continued in his prepared remarks. "The U.S. government's use of lethal force in self defense against a leader of al Qaeda or an associated force who presents an imminent threat of violent attack would not be unlawful -- and therefore would not violate the Executive Order banning assassination or criminal statutes." snip.... |
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