Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case To Kill A Citizen

New York Times:

The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[Drmhp]

12:27 AM on 10/10/2011

It all started with the patriot act. Our constitutional rights are finished. We are wards of the state.

[EncourgingDebate]

07:39 PM on 10/09/2011

Sooner or later, Most of yous are going to wake up and see that each one of yous were so EFFECTIVELY MANIPULATED !

Many of yous really believe that YOU were there to see this individual actually commit a crime, really ? You all should go back to school and request Humanities101.

Nah, on second though, that would be a waste of time and energy for most of yous, it wouldn't change the fact that many of yous have a Belief system that's already faulty !

[dissanayake]

07:30 PM on 10/09/2011

Why didnt the Administration rescend his Citizenship...and then..kill him? all that angst on killing a Citizen would not have taken place.

[Quitcherbichin]

09:55 PM on 10/09/2011

Angst? What angst? I would wager that at least 80% of the American people do not have a problem with killing of this terrorist. The 20% that do are the liberals...and their opinion doesn't count.

[AdamWest1313]

02:13 AM on 10/10/2011

Yeah, shame on us for having a problem with a United States citizen be assassinated. Shame on us for thinking this could have consequences in the future, and could be used for political means.

How dare we.

[johngary66]

02:30 AM on 10/10/2011

What a great and wise civic leader you would make Quitcherbitchin, in North Korea, not here. Your statement will surely appeal to your teabagger buddies though.

[CropCircles]

07:11 PM on 10/09/2011

Notice the posture of this holier-than-thou jihadist. He is pointing his finger as many of these speakers do in a condescending way when they try to lecture others, especially those in the West. It is usually a dead giveaway to that finger's being blown to smithereens along with the rest of the body in the near future. What I would like to see is al Zawahiri giving us another lecture soon with an index finger pointing at the camera just like this character did before he got blown up.

[CAdawn]

06:28 PM on 10/09/2011

There is no doubt that Al Awlaki committed treason. He was an american citizen plotting against the US. I blame Holder if there is any blow-back from this drone attack. He should have tried Al Awlaki in absentia; that might have answered some critics. But no, Holder was too busy going after on-line poker and looking for over 2000+ gu_ns.

[EncourgingDebate]

07:42 PM on 10/09/2011

You were actually there to see him commit treason ! Really ? Care to show us proof !

[Quitcherbichin]

09:57 PM on 10/09/2011

Proof? Proof? We don't need no stinking proof..we have Predator drones.

[Marcospinelli]

06:15 PM on 10/09/2011

How Can Samir Khan Be “Collateral Damage” If OLC Memo Restricted Civilian Death?

[Alois SaintMartin]

06:07 PM on 10/09/2011

You`ve just run a Red Light ! Do you know where that Dashing young stud in the Flashing Squad Car served his last tour of duty ... ?

[Brian Helm]

05:34 PM on 10/09/2011

Armed and dangerous, been warned, killing or plotting to kill. All good reasons to not risk actual troops.

[Pleroma]

10:31 AM on 10/10/2011

So you have sucked up the official pravda.

[cdhj12000]

05:31 PM on 10/09/2011

Sounds like manipulating the law to serve the purpose(s) of somebody(s) who might otherwise have been breaking it. Pretty slick. Not the first time it's ever been done, and the people are aware of it and they are getting sick of it all over the world. People aren't so ignorant anymore in this age of communication and information. That may be a key factor that the orchestrators of this world wide mess didn't take seriously.

[johnjohn4321]

05:06 PM on 10/09/2011

Good riddance.

[Rasalom]

05:48 PM on 10/09/2011

... said the President to the Constitution.

[EncourgingDebate]

07:43 PM on 10/09/2011

You got that right !

[Teufelhund0351]

04:48 PM on 10/09/2011

Can anybody please give me some pointers on how to get through the censors? I've posted 2 very benign comments without language approaching "abusive" lol and neither got through? Is this site afraid of opposing points view? NOT trying to insult anybody there, just trying to get a feel for the soul of this site.

[truthfulman]

05:28 PM on 10/09/2011

Not possible. Especially in articles like this, where the Obama administration looks very Bush-ish.

Why do you think this article is buried so far down the main page?

[CAdawn]

06:22 PM on 10/09/2011

Sometimes the most innocuous posts can't get through. No rhyme or reason. Sometimes it works to misspell words or use symbols; but not always. If this continues for you, go to the bottom of the page...look for "contact us" and describe the problem to hp.

[liberalluke]

04:46 PM on 10/09/2011

Who are the ones guilty of war crimes????

[EncourgingDebate]

07:43 PM on 10/09/2011

American Citizens !

[hempster]

04:08 PM on 10/09/2011

Let's see. The oath of office specifies to protect the United States from all enemies foreign or domestic. Well done Mr. President.

[Teufelhund0351]

04:40 PM on 10/09/2011

Did you reward Bush with the same adulation?

[hempster]

05:12 PM on 10/09/2011

For what? Dropping the ball in Afghanistan or waging a war in Iraq? For passing a Medicare part D without funding or the tax breaks that turned a surplus into a deficit? Or perhaps for ignoring the Presidential Daily Brief of Aug 6, 2001 stating that OBL was planning an attack in the US using aircraft?

[truthfulman]

05:25 PM on 10/09/2011

... of course not. The definition of hypocrisy.

[johngary66]

02:49 AM on 10/10/2011

Let's see, in the oath of office the President promises to defend the Constitution, not try to circumvent it. Nice try Mr. Dictator.

[hempster]

11:41 AM on 10/10/2011

And where in the constitution does it say not to kill our enemies. I know Section 5 and due process. However, in the case of a US citizen declaring war on the US, that citizen then becomes an enemy combatant.

Thanks for the reply and nice avitar. Pretty.

[BinghamLofts]

03:48 PM on 10/09/2011

this is pretty buried... liberals would had been all over gw for this.

[hempster]

04:54 PM on 10/09/2011

Naw. Bush was an enemy maker, both foreign and domestic.

[Rasalom]

05:49 PM on 10/09/2011

Drone attacks only make friends!

[eehd]

05:32 PM on 10/09/2011

I would be. I can't speak for the rest of the "liberals" but I see no difference between GWB and BO.

[jteschke]

03:05 PM on 10/09/2011

If killing were not involved, it would be comical. Could you imagine going before a judge in a real trial and saying, I have a secret brief which enables me to do this which I am not going to show you. Like I said before, I think they're keeping it secret because they know it's illegal and they want to shield those writing the brief, or memo or whatever they call it, from potential liability should conditions later change and political power-based immunity become inapplicable.