President claims power to assassinate American citizens abroad

[ooglymoogly]

From Salon; Greenwald article: In late January, I wrote about the Obama administration's "presidential assassination program," whereby American citizens are targeted for killings far away from any battlefield, based exclusively on unchecked accusations by the Executive Branch that they're involved in Terrorism. At the time, The Washington Post's Dana Priest had noted deep in a long article that Obama had continued Bush's policy (which Bush never actually implemented) of having the Joint Chiefs of Staff compile "hit lists" of Americans, and Priest suggested that the American-born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was on that list. The following week, Obama's Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, acknowledged in Congressional testimony that the administration reserves the "right" to carry out such assassinations.

Today, both The New York Times and The Washington Post confirm that the Obama White House has now expressly authorized the CIA to kill al-Alwaki no matter where he is found, no matter his distance from a battlefield. I wrote at length about the extreme dangers and lawlessness of allowing the Executive Branch the power to murder U.S. citizens far away from a battlefield (i.e., while they're sleeping, at home, with their children, etc.) and with no due process of any kind. More:

:http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/04/07/assassinations.

[GodlessBiker]

1. A great yet terribly shocking article. It's amazing how power corrupts.

[ooglymoogly]

10. Papa Doc is the final result of such a short sighted and irresponsible policy.

Choosing the easy solution rather than the right solution, though it might be harder. The outcome of this idiocy will be for who ever is in power to assassinate those who do not agree with them, maybe during this admin, maybe the next, maybe the one further down the road; Sooner than later, the way things have been going lately. This expediency opens the door to mob rule and despotism. We can no longer rest assured our politician's have even the slightest humanity or thought for our wellbeing.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Change that doesn't really make a damned bit of difference

[eppur_se_muova]

Why not target some corporate "citizens" at home?

They are the greater danger.

[RDANGELO]

3. One question?

Does he have to go Through the courts for this?

[Deep13]

4. No. This is executive action.

Anyway, nothing short of a conviction for capital murder would give the courts a right to authorize it.

[ooglymoogly]

5. No he does not.

It does not get any scarier than this.

[The Northerner]

6. +1

[aquart]

7. This is total acceptance of John Yoo's analysis of presidential perks.

[ooglymoogly]

11. And that is why Yoo was never prosecuted or even harshly spoken to. nt

[GodlessBiker]

8. K&R

[Turbineguy]

9. This is one of those

"In Theory, Yes. In Practice, No." things.

[paulsby]

12. i posted an article about this from reason.com

titled the 9/14 president