The New York Times 03/06/12 Charlie Savage
“US law may allow killings, Holder says”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/us/politics/holder-explains-threat-that-would-call-for-killing-without-trial.html
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. asserted on Monday that it is lawful for the government to kill American citizens if officials deem them to be operational leaders of Al Qaeda who are planning attacks on the United States and if capturing them alive is not feasible.
“Given the nature of how terrorists act and where they tend to hide, it may not always be feasible to capture a United States citizen terrorist who presents an imminent threat of violent attack,” Mr. Holder said in a speech at Northwestern University’s law school. “In that case, our government has the clear authority to defend the United States with lethal force.”
“Some have argued that the president is required to get permission from a federal court before taking action against a United States citizen who is a senior operational leader of Al Qaeda or associated forces,” Mr. Holder said. “This is simply not accurate. ‘Due process’ and ‘judicial process’ are not one and the same, particularly when it comes to national security. The Constitution guarantees due process, not judicial process.”
Mr. Holder’s speech has been planned since last fall, when questions were first raised about the Obama administration’s legal justification for the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born radical Muslim cleric who died in an American drone strike last September. The administration has rejected bipartisan calls to release a secret memorandum by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which signed off on killing Mr. Awlaki. Mr. Holder’s speech was designed to offer the public some explanation of the government’s reasoning.
The administration has declined to confirm that the memo exists, and late last year, The Times filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act asking a judge to order the Justice Department to make it public. In February, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a broader lawsuit, seeking both the memo and the evidence against Mr. Awlaki.
He focused on one situation in which someone could be killed without a trial: when a citizen who is believed to be an operational leader of Al Qaeda or its allies and who is plotting attacks; who is located in a country that either granted the United States permission to strike or that is unable or unwilling to suppress the threat on its own; and whose capture is not feasible.
Common Sense Review
The hard part about this is that we here in America are a target by all terrorist foreign and domestic. The point I have issues: We kill our own but release those who have vowed our demise.
In previous posting:
Pres. Obama advises to release Gitmo Detainees
Presidential Memoranda 01/27/12
“Presidential Memorandum – Delegation of Certain Function under Section 308(a) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (for the Secretary of State)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/27/presidential-memorandum-delegation-certain-function-under-section-308a-i
By the authority vested in me as President by the Consittution and the law of the United States of American including section 301 of title 3, US Code, I hereby delegate to you, in consutltion with the Secretary of Defense, the function to provide to Congress the information specified in section 308(a) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Barack Obama
NDAA
Sec 308(a) Requirement for Notification – the {resident shall submit to Congress, in classified form, at least 30 days prior to the transfer or release of an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay Cuba.
Common Sense Review
It looks like Pres Obama plans on releasing some Gitmo detainees.. let’s refresh our memories:
The Washington Post 01/09/12
“Don’t let These Taliban leaders loose”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-let-these-taliban-leaders-loose/2012/01/09/gIQAeLIWlP_story.html
President Obama is reportedly considering releasing several senior Taliban leader from Guantanamo Bay as an enticement to get the Taliban to the peace table. With the opening of the Taliban political office in Qatar, Obama officials see the move a step to peace talks.
Among several individuals the White House is considering releasing include the four Taliban leaders :
• Mullah Mohammned Fazi, deputy defense minister:
O Implicated in the murder of thousands of Shiites in northern Afghanistan
o “operational associations with significant al-Qaida and other extremist personnel
o Involved in Taliban narcotics trafficking
• Abdul Haq Wasiq, deputy minister of intelligence:
o Arranged for al-Qaida personnel to train Taliban intelligence staff in intelligence methods.
o Assigned al-Qaida members to the Taliban Ministry of Intelligence
• Mullah Norullah Noori, governor-general of Afghanistan’s northern zone:
o Was directly subordinate to Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar
o Associated with members of al-Qaida
o Assessed “to be a hardliner in his support of the Taliban philosophy”
• Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, Herat governor and acting interior minister
o “directly associated to Usama Bin Laden (aka Osama bin Laden) and Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Muhammad Omar. He was “trusted and respected by both”
o “ represented the Taliban during meetings with Iranian officials seeking to support hostilities against the US and Coalition forces
o “one of the premier opium drug lords in Western Afghanistan.
It seems we treat terrorist differently….
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