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xchrom

(108,903 posts)
Wed Jun 25, 2014, 05:46 AM Jun 2014

8 Things You Should Know About the Shocking Legal Memo That Justified Assassinating a U.S. Citizen

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/8-things-you-should-know-about-shocking-legal-memo-justified-assassinating-us



***SNIP

1. The memo is retroactive. If the U.S. military had its way, Awlaki would have been dead long before the Obama administration crafted a controversial legal argument that his death was justified under U.S. statues.

The first time the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) targeted Awlaki for death was in December 2009. A drone strike was launched on December 24, 2009, aimed at a meeting of AQAP leaders. Awlaki was reportedly there, but he escaped death. U.S. officials claimed to the New York Times he was not the target of the strike and that he would have been “collateral damage.” Still, if he was killed then, there would have been no legal gloss to justify it.

2. Israeli law is cited as a precedent. The U.S. and its number one ally in the Middle East are fond of borrowing from each other when it comes to the most repressive tactics used in the war on terror. Drones are no exception--and neither is the killing of Awlaki.

***SNIP

3. No evidence is presented. Many portions of Barron’s legal reasoning were released. But one important part of the U.S. case against Awlaki remains redacted in the legal memo: the actual evidence used to determine Awlaki was “an active, high-level leader of an enemy force who is continually involved in planning and recruiting for terrorist attacks,” as the memo states.

4. The administration is judge, jury and executioner. The Justice Department memo sets out to legalize the first time since the Civil War a U.S. administration had specifically targeted a citizen for death without trial. It’s a unilateral process: the administration decides to kill a citizen. The evidence is drawn up by the administration. The administration then carries out the assassination.
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8 Things You Should Know About the Shocking Legal Memo That Justified Assassinating a U.S. Citizen (Original Post) xchrom Jun 2014 OP
The basic idea of due process is that, when feasible, Vattel Jun 2014 #1
Kick.... daleanime Jun 2014 #2
+ underpants Jun 2014 #3
Murder by another name. Octafish Jun 2014 #4
This memo is on par with Yoo's torture memo. morningfog Jun 2014 #5
A memo is not Law PowerToThePeople Jun 2014 #6
K&R! Wow.... nt riderinthestorm Jun 2014 #7
pm kick for another excellent xchrom article nt riderinthestorm Jun 2014 #8
 

Vattel

(9,289 posts)
1. The basic idea of due process is that, when feasible,
Wed Jun 25, 2014, 06:06 AM
Jun 2014

there should be judicial process before a citizen is deprived of life, liberty, or property by the government. If Awlaki was about to shoot someone, the government could kill him without going to a judge. But in fact there was plenty of time for judicial process in his case. So if we are going to assassinate citizens, a special court should be set up to provide due process for the citizen.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
4. Murder by another name.
Wed Jun 25, 2014, 07:48 AM
Jun 2014

Secret Government is un-American and un-Constitutional. How anyone could support this shows how messed up our nation has become by War Inc.

 

PowerToThePeople

(9,610 posts)
6. A memo is not Law
Wed Jun 25, 2014, 08:08 AM
Jun 2014

Anyone can write whatever load of crap they want on a piece of paper. It has zero meaning if it is not passed into law.

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