Justice Department Memo Reveals Legal Case For Drone Strikes On Americans

Justice Department Memo Reveals Legal Case For Drone Strikes On Americans
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, an unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. A U.N. expert on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 launched a special investigation into drone warfare and targeted killings, which the United States relies on as a front-line weapon in its global war against al-Qaida. The civilian killings and injuries that result from drone strikes on suspected terrorist cells will be part of the focus of the probe by British lawyer Ben Emmerson, the U.N. rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights. His office announced the investigation in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, an unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. A U.N. expert on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 launched a special investigation into drone warfare and targeted killings, which the United States relies on as a front-line weapon in its global war against al-Qaida. The civilian killings and injuries that result from drone strikes on suspected terrorist cells will be part of the focus of the probe by British lawyer Ben Emmerson, the U.N. rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights. His office announced the investigation in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

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.

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