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A secret panel of mid-level national security officials has been established that can put American citizens on a “kill or capture” list that is ultimately sent to the White House for final approval.
The panel’s recommendations first go through a group of National Security Council “principals” – meaning Cabinet secretaries and intelligence chiefs – for approval before reaching the president’s desk, according to a report today by Reuter’s.
Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born militant killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen last month, was approved for killing in this way, though the role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is vague, the report said. Reuters said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process.
There is no public record of the panel’s workings and no law actually establishing it or spelling out its functions.
Though al-Awlaki’s death was widely hailed as another example of the U.S.’s determination and ability to find and kill militant leaders, it has also drawn the ire and concern of civil libertarians who believe the government has no business acting as judge, jury and executioner of an American citizen without due process.
Even conservatives have hit Obama for hypocrisy, recalling that he criticized his predecessor, George W. Bush, over the use of torture to interrogate terror suspects. As in the case of the last administration, the Obama administration replied consulted with Justice Department attorneys before ordering the attack on al-Awlaki, Reuters reported.
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who is a candidate for president, was quick to criticized Obama for the al-Awlaki assassination and said in a National Press Club talk that if American citizens did not protest at such killings it’s possible that even reporters could end up on a hit list.
“Can you imagine being put on a list because you're a threat? What's going to happen when they come to the media? What if the media becomes a threat?” he said in remarks reported by the Associated Press. “This is the way this works. It's incrementalism." Paul said.
"It's slipping and sliding, let me tell you,” he said.
© Copyright 2011 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The panel’s recommendations first go through a group of National Security Council “principals” – meaning Cabinet secretaries and intelligence chiefs – for approval before reaching the president’s desk, according to a report today by Reuter’s.
Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born militant killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen last month, was approved for killing in this way, though the role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is vague, the report said. Reuters said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process.
There is no public record of the panel’s workings and no law actually establishing it or spelling out its functions.
Though al-Awlaki’s death was widely hailed as another example of the U.S.’s determination and ability to find and kill militant leaders, it has also drawn the ire and concern of civil libertarians who believe the government has no business acting as judge, jury and executioner of an American citizen without due process.
Even conservatives have hit Obama for hypocrisy, recalling that he criticized his predecessor, George W. Bush, over the use of torture to interrogate terror suspects. As in the case of the last administration, the Obama administration replied consulted with Justice Department attorneys before ordering the attack on al-Awlaki, Reuters reported.
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who is a candidate for president, was quick to criticized Obama for the al-Awlaki assassination and said in a National Press Club talk that if American citizens did not protest at such killings it’s possible that even reporters could end up on a hit list.
“Can you imagine being put on a list because you're a threat? What's going to happen when they come to the media? What if the media becomes a threat?” he said in remarks reported by the Associated Press. “This is the way this works. It's incrementalism." Paul said.
"It's slipping and sliding, let me tell you,” he said.
© Copyright 2011 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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