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NBC EXCLUSIVE: Justice Department Memo Reveals Legal Case for Drone Strikes on Americans
NBC News ^ | Monday, February 4, 2013 | Michael Isikoff

Posted on 02/04/2013 6:29:12 PM PST by kristinn

A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.

The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.

SNIP

But the confidential Justice Department “white paper” introduces a more expansive definition of self-defense or imminent attack than described by Brennan or Holder in their public speeches. It refers, for example, to what it calls a “broader concept of imminence” than actual intelligence about any ongoing plot against the U.S. homeland.

SNIP

“A lawful killing in self-defense is not an assassination,” the white paper reads. “In the Department’s view, a lethal operation conducted against a U.S. citizen whose conduct poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States would be a legitimate act of national self-defense that would not violate the assassination ban. Similarly, the use of lethal force, consistent with the laws of war, against an individual who is a legitimate military target would be lawful and would not violate the assassination ban.”

(Excerpt) Read more at openchannel.nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 16yroldamerican; benevolentdrones; cw2; domesticdroneattack; domesticdrones; droneassasins; drones; dronestrikes; enemiesofobama; enemywithin; habeascorpus; johnbrennan; killingamericans; obama; obamakilllist; obamalegacy; obamascandals; obamunism; orwelliannightmare; policestate; pravdamedia; subverthabeascorpus; teaparty; threatmatrix; traitor; treason; usdrones; waronamericans
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To: Azeem
Do you really want the government of the United States to make it okay to kill American citizens it deems as terrorists, especially without a Declaration of War (which we did have in WW2)?

The authorization by Congress to use all necessary military force constitutes the functional equivalent of a formal Declaration of War.

The USA has formally declared war a grand total of 5 times under the Constitution, 4 of those after hostilities had started.

We have engaged in military action literally hundreds of times, with tacit or explicit congressional approval in most of those cases. The very first example was the Quasi-War with France, where President Adams fought without a formal declaration of war. This allowed both sides to pretend they weren't really at war.

As far as using military force against American citizens without a Declaration of War, this goes all the way back to Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion.

As I've said elsewhere, the traditional idea of a formally declared war is that it can be declared only against another nation-state. We need to either expand the concept and formally declare war on al-Quaeda, which would be fine by me, or recognize that in a time when our most aggressive enemies aren't nation-states, Declarations of War are obsolete.

Do I trust Obama to use such powers wisely? Hell, no! But that doesn't mean the powers are wrong, only that we elected a bad user twice.

41 posted on 02/04/2013 7:21:48 PM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: skeeter
To use a phrase once spoken by former Whitehouse Press Woman, Helen Thomas: Could it be that Holder, “knows where all the bodies are burried”.
42 posted on 02/04/2013 7:22:05 PM PST by TiaS
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To: mrsmith
AG Mulckasey, who replaced Ashcroft, opened the door for all this and it's gone down hill, “like a snowball headed for HELL” ever since.
43 posted on 02/04/2013 7:29:50 PM PST by TiaS
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To: mrsmith
AG Mulckasey, who replaced Ashcroft, opened the door for all this and it's gone down hill, “like a snowball headed for HELL” ever since.
44 posted on 02/04/2013 7:29:50 PM PST by TiaS
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To: mrsmith
AG Mulckasey, who replaced Ashcroft, opened the door for all this and it's gone down hill, “like a snowball headed for HELL” ever since.
45 posted on 02/04/2013 7:29:50 PM PST by TiaS
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To: kristinn

Depends on what the word ‘terrorist’ is.


46 posted on 02/04/2013 7:30:14 PM PST by TribalPrincess2U (0bama's agenda—Divide and conquer seems to be working.)
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To: kristinn

BFL


47 posted on 02/04/2013 7:32:18 PM PST by huldah1776
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To: Sherman Logan
If terrorists are legitimate targets, then why should a terrorist get a Don’t Drone Me Bro Card simply because he has American citizenship

Who gets to determine what a "legitimate" target is? How do we know whether the administrations isn't just trumping up charges against innocent people in order to spy on or summarily execute political opponents? With no checks on executive branch to oversee its actions, the potential for abuse is very high. (Unless you think that the government always does the right thing and would never abuse its power.)

To allow the executive branch the power to do whatever it wants without ANY checks is to essentially make the executive a king. If the government can accuse an innocent person of a crime and take away a person's rights and due process based upon the executive branch's say so alone, then the government can do that to everyone and the protections promised in the Constitution are meaningless.

48 posted on 02/04/2013 7:33:54 PM PST by old republic
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To: kristinn
A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.

I'm sure there are Muslims in the Department of Justice - I'm equally sure there are no conservatives there. Are we - fellow Americans of a conservative bent - the 'associated force'?

49 posted on 02/04/2013 7:36:48 PM PST by GOPJ ( Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution. Vladimir Nabokov)
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To: Sherman Logan

Very simple ... If he/she is an American they have a right to a trial by law!... If your Mom, Dad, Brother or Sister are deemed terrorists thus legitimate targets should we kill them without a trial?


50 posted on 02/04/2013 7:38:10 PM PST by KingNo155
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To: gaijin
The “AL QAEDA” buzzword is the sugar to make the medicine go down...

Like all totalitarians before them, the only 'enemy' they know is the person who might vote them out of office....

51 posted on 02/04/2013 7:39:42 PM PST by GOPJ ( Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution. Vladimir Nabokov)
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To: Domangart

I don’t think they envision anything like a fleeing Felon. I think they are talking about a sitting duck target, and I don’t think they are too concerned with classic legal definitions, they just get in the way of a Monarchy!


52 posted on 02/04/2013 7:40:41 PM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: Army Air Corps

Does NBC have the wit to understand that horrible laws cut both ways? It’s not always going to be a liberal in office... What if it’s their families that are targeted? How would they feel?


53 posted on 02/04/2013 7:41:35 PM PST by GOPJ ( Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution. Vladimir Nabokov)
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To: Army Air Corps

Does NBC have the wit to understand that horrible laws cut both ways? It’s not always going to be a liberal in office... What if it’s their families that are targeted? How would they feel?

Wait, come to think of it, NBC would probably be doctoring the tapes so it looks like we caused the drones to kill our children...


54 posted on 02/04/2013 7:46:04 PM PST by GOPJ ( Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution. Vladimir Nabokov)
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To: old republic

When has there ever been due process or checks and balances in time of war?

AlpQuaeda is at war with the USA. That is just a fact. We can ignore them or go to war with them. But if we go to war, by definition there won’t be anything resembling due process.

I understand your concerns and this is indeed a slippery slope. But when it is necessary to cross such a slope to defend American lives, you do so, and protest when excesses are proven, not because excesses CAN happen. If that tack is taken, there can be no effective self-defense.


55 posted on 02/04/2013 7:46:45 PM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: kristinn

http://patriotaction.net/forum/topic/show?id=2600775%3ATopic%3A6084478&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic

Scary, but it’s PAST time to fight.


56 posted on 02/04/2013 7:48:26 PM PST by Mortrey (Impeach President Soros)
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To: skeeter

“How have we reached the point where a thug like Eric Holder has this kind of power?”

If not, we will be there soon.

What does this portend for the future?


57 posted on 02/04/2013 7:49:47 PM PST by Road Glide
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To: kristinn

And if there should ever be an attack that turns out to be a patriot then Big Brother can simply say, “Oops! The joke’s on us!”


58 posted on 02/04/2013 7:52:45 PM PST by spel_grammer_an_punct_polise (Learn three chords and you, too, can be a Rock Star!)
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To: Sherman Logan
As I've said elsewhere, the traditional idea of a formally declared war is that it can be declared only against another nation-state. We need to either expand the concept and formally declare war on al-Quaeda, which would be fine by me, or recognize that in a time when our most aggressive enemies aren't nation-states, Declarations of War are obsolete.

Back in the day, Congress used to issue Letter's of Marque and Reprisal to private persons. These letters allowed Americans to attack the forces of foreign states or even non-state actors such as pirates for a bounty to be paid by the US government. These letters basically commissioned privateers to go attack hostile groups or individuals. I don't know if they could be used against US Citizens. Letters of Marque haven't been used for about 150 years, and are thus considered "obsolete" by some other countries, but in theory they could be revived by Congress to deal with non-state threats outside of the US.

59 posted on 02/04/2013 7:53:03 PM PST by old republic
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To: kristinn

What Good Can a Handgun Do Against An Army?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/2312894/posts


60 posted on 02/04/2013 8:00:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (I'll raise $2million for Sarah Palin's presidential run. What'll you do?)
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