Trump Sued by ACLU Over His Secret Killing Rules
Source: Newsweek Magazine
TRUMP SUED BY ACLU OVER SECRET KILLING RULES
BY SAM SCHWARZ ON 12/22/17 AT 11:01 AM
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration Thursday over the secrecy of its killing policies. The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, which names the departments of Defense, Justice and State, is seeking to force the government to release a copy of new rules governing drone strikes and targeted killings abroad. The Obama administration was similarly compelled to make public its drone strike "playbook" in August 2016 after an ACLU FOIA lawsuit.
The administration's policy, known as "Principles, Standards, and Procedures," replaced the Obama-era "Presidential Policy Guidance," though it is not definitively known what changes were made.
Link to tweet
The New York Times reported in September on some of the likely changes, saying the administration was "preparing to dismantle key Obama-era limits on drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional battlefields." Trump's national security team recommended that the list of acceptable targets for kill missions be expanded to include "foot-soldier jihadists" instead of just "high-level militants," and that drone attacks no longer be required to "undergo high-level vetting," according to the same Times report.
Trump himself may have forecasted the easing of restrictions in a late-August primetime address to the American people discussing his strategy for Afghanistan. "These killers need to know they have nowhere to hide, that no place is beyond the reach of American might and American arms. Retribution will be fast and powerful as we lift restrictions and expand authorities," Trump said.
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-aclu-drone-killing-756842
Eliot Rosewater
(31,159 posts)their enemy by this time next year.
We will be and are now hated by everyone.
The thing to remember is trump and his deplorables WANT to be hated by all others. Look for our military to lose lives protecting the fuhrer's properties abroad.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Irish_Dem
(48,670 posts)FakeNoose
(33,002 posts)Yes they hate him, but they don't hate our country. They know it's only a matter of time until we get a good POTUS in there. Think about the 8 awful years of Bush Jr. Our Allies had to suffer through it as much as we did. But once it was over, we had Obama, and everyone loved him. Our Allies I mean - the British, the Germans, heck all of the Europeans, the Canadians, the Aussies and many of the Asian nations too. I don't even have to mention how the Africans felt about Obama.
They're all just waiting out Trump and hoping for better on the next round. It's up to us because the Repukes never will do it.
Irish_Dem
(48,670 posts)We elected Bush, or allowed him to be selected and he did a great
deal of damage to our country, other countries, and our international
standing took a big hit. And even if we elect a good leader
like Obama, the next nut job president can wipe out all his gains.
So yes they loved Obama but they can see that we are not a consistent
people in voting for excellence, and anything good can be easily undone.
We are also a racist, violent country, with a lower standard of living that many European countries. We torture, and invade countries.
Not much of a role model any more for human rights.
We are also no longer a representative democracy, but an oligarchy, rule by the rich and powerful. We have a corrupt, greedy government. So much for the shining city on the hill.
I think our fall from grace is going to be permanent. And we will no longer be the superpower to be reckoned with.
Perhaps just as well, as other countries will rise and have a chance to do their thing.
FakeNoose
(33,002 posts)Yes you're right. But they still want to visit the USA, maybe nobody wants to live here any more.
I've been to Germany 7 or 8 times and I'm always amazed at how they're fascinated with us. The Germans know everything about us but most Americans are totally oblivious to other countries. We just assume that everyone will speak english with us, because why not? We're not going to bother learning their language. It's too much work. So english is the 2nd language for most of the European countries, they all have to learn it and they use it a lot.
I think you're right though. We've permanently damaged any credibility or leadership we ever had. The GOP has made sure of that.
Fred Sanders
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