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Probably because, iirc, the policy against assassination is an executive order signed by a previous presidentthat most likely deals with foreign heads of state/members of government... Last I heard, Al Qaeda is not a government...

No the first part is the key. It is an Executive Order (EO 12333). Now, boys and girls...which branch of the federal government do Executive Orders originate from? :o)

The text of the Executive Order is here:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/eo12333.html

You're right in that the assassination provision does not mention foreign government leaders.

"2.11 Prohibition on Assassination. No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination."

If you look at the date of this EO some of you may be surpised! Dec 4, 1981.

This link includes the name of the signatory president at the bottom of the page:

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo12333.htm

This gets more interesting all the time.

According to Arabic web sources tonight, the six whom the US took out were on their way to assassinate the US Ambassador to Yemen, Ambassador Hull (now safe). Here is his background; this may explain why they reportedly wanted to get him. They ended up themselves being sent to their virgins, instead! Let's Roll!

From US Embassy, Sanaa, Yemen website: "Edmund J. Hull was sworn in as the American Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen on September 17, 2001 by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Previously, Mr. Hull served as the U.S. Department of State's Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Mr. Hull was instrumental in mobilizing international support for sanctions, including UN Security Council Resolution 1333, against terrorists and countries supporting terrorism. He has also led U.S. delegations to meet with the UN, the G-8, and the EU, as well as India, Canada, Japan, Yemen, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the UK, Central Asian states, and Spain. He also joined Under Secretary Pickering in launching the U.S.-Russian Working Group on Afghanistan."