A MQ-9 Reaper during a training mission (Photo: Paul Ridgeway / Wikimedia Creative Commons)
Jun 23, 2014
The U.S. government on Monday partially released the formerly-classified Department of Justice "drone memo," dated 2010, in which Obama administration lawyers argue they have the right to extra-judicially kill U.S. citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen.
Anwar Al Aulaqi, who had been placed on a "kill list," died by U.S. drone strikes in September 2011, along with Samir Khan, as well as three other people. Just weeks later, another U.S. drone attack on a restaurant in Yemen killed Anwar Al-Aulaqi's son Abdulrahman, also a U.S. citizen, and six other civilians.
In the memo, which is addressed to attorney general Eric Holder, David Barron--then head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel--argues that the targeted killing is legal "where, as here, the target's activities pose a 'continued and imminent threat of violence or death' to U.S. persons, 'the highest officers in the Intelligence Community have reviewed the factual basis' for the lethal operation, and a capture operation would be infeasible."
Yet the drone memo was redacted before release, leading to the omission of key information, including alleged factual evidence for the government's claim that al-Aulaqi posed a threat to the United States.
Barron claims the killing is justified by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force--a highly controversial and expansive congressional act that has been expansively interpreted by the Bush and Obama administrations to authorize ongoing war and occupation in Afghanistan, covert drone wars in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, military intervention in countries from Ethiopia to Iraq, indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prison, and more.
"We believe that the AUMF's authority to use lethal force abroad also may apply in appropriate circumstances to a United States citizen who is part of the forces of an enemy authorization within the scope of the force authorization," states the memo.
Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei, who was CCR's lead counsel on two lawsuits with the ACLU challenging the killing of Al-Aulaqi, declared in a statement, "The DOJ memo confirms that the government's drone killing program is built on gross distortions of law. This forced transparency comes years late, long after the memo was drafted and used to justify the premeditated killing of a U.S. citizen without trial and far from any battlefield."
She adds, "The United States loosening and redefining international rules governing the use of force and war is ultimately not going to make anyone any safer."
The memo notes that the CIA had an "operational role" in the targeted killing of al-Aulaqi. According to Brett Max Kaufman, Legal Fellow of the ACLU National Security Project, "[T]he official unveiling of this fact should open the door to further disclosures about the CIA's role in the program and about factual information, like numbers of civilian casualties caused by the program, that the government continues to maintain cannot be disclosed to the public."
The Obama administration has for years fought the release of the document but was forced to make it public in response to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times.
"The US drone wars have now been going on for over a decade, have killed thousands of individuals,--including a handful of American citizens, and serves as the cornerstone of President Obama's 'light footprint' national security policy," said Stephen Miles of Win Without War in an interview with Common Dreams. "The American people--in whose name these strikes occur--have a right to know far, far more about this program than they currently do."
"We will continue to press for the release of other documents relating to the targeted-killing program, including other legal memos and documents relating to civilian casualties," said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer.
Journalist Jeremy Scahill noted on Twitter that the memo leaves key questions unanswered:
\u201cFirst known attempt to kill Anwar al Awlaki was Dec. 2009. Legal memo justifying US plot to kill him is dated July 2010.\u201d— jeremy scahill (@jeremy scahill) 1403542231
_____________________
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
The U.S. government on Monday partially released the formerly-classified Department of Justice "drone memo," dated 2010, in which Obama administration lawyers argue they have the right to extra-judicially kill U.S. citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen.
Anwar Al Aulaqi, who had been placed on a "kill list," died by U.S. drone strikes in September 2011, along with Samir Khan, as well as three other people. Just weeks later, another U.S. drone attack on a restaurant in Yemen killed Anwar Al-Aulaqi's son Abdulrahman, also a U.S. citizen, and six other civilians.
In the memo, which is addressed to attorney general Eric Holder, David Barron--then head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel--argues that the targeted killing is legal "where, as here, the target's activities pose a 'continued and imminent threat of violence or death' to U.S. persons, 'the highest officers in the Intelligence Community have reviewed the factual basis' for the lethal operation, and a capture operation would be infeasible."
Yet the drone memo was redacted before release, leading to the omission of key information, including alleged factual evidence for the government's claim that al-Aulaqi posed a threat to the United States.
Barron claims the killing is justified by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force--a highly controversial and expansive congressional act that has been expansively interpreted by the Bush and Obama administrations to authorize ongoing war and occupation in Afghanistan, covert drone wars in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, military intervention in countries from Ethiopia to Iraq, indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prison, and more.
"We believe that the AUMF's authority to use lethal force abroad also may apply in appropriate circumstances to a United States citizen who is part of the forces of an enemy authorization within the scope of the force authorization," states the memo.
Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei, who was CCR's lead counsel on two lawsuits with the ACLU challenging the killing of Al-Aulaqi, declared in a statement, "The DOJ memo confirms that the government's drone killing program is built on gross distortions of law. This forced transparency comes years late, long after the memo was drafted and used to justify the premeditated killing of a U.S. citizen without trial and far from any battlefield."
She adds, "The United States loosening and redefining international rules governing the use of force and war is ultimately not going to make anyone any safer."
The memo notes that the CIA had an "operational role" in the targeted killing of al-Aulaqi. According to Brett Max Kaufman, Legal Fellow of the ACLU National Security Project, "[T]he official unveiling of this fact should open the door to further disclosures about the CIA's role in the program and about factual information, like numbers of civilian casualties caused by the program, that the government continues to maintain cannot be disclosed to the public."
The Obama administration has for years fought the release of the document but was forced to make it public in response to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times.
"The US drone wars have now been going on for over a decade, have killed thousands of individuals,--including a handful of American citizens, and serves as the cornerstone of President Obama's 'light footprint' national security policy," said Stephen Miles of Win Without War in an interview with Common Dreams. "The American people--in whose name these strikes occur--have a right to know far, far more about this program than they currently do."
"We will continue to press for the release of other documents relating to the targeted-killing program, including other legal memos and documents relating to civilian casualties," said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer.
Journalist Jeremy Scahill noted on Twitter that the memo leaves key questions unanswered:
\u201cFirst known attempt to kill Anwar al Awlaki was Dec. 2009. Legal memo justifying US plot to kill him is dated July 2010.\u201d— jeremy scahill (@jeremy scahill) 1403542231
_____________________
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
The U.S. government on Monday partially released the formerly-classified Department of Justice "drone memo," dated 2010, in which Obama administration lawyers argue they have the right to extra-judicially kill U.S. citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen.
Anwar Al Aulaqi, who had been placed on a "kill list," died by U.S. drone strikes in September 2011, along with Samir Khan, as well as three other people. Just weeks later, another U.S. drone attack on a restaurant in Yemen killed Anwar Al-Aulaqi's son Abdulrahman, also a U.S. citizen, and six other civilians.
In the memo, which is addressed to attorney general Eric Holder, David Barron--then head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel--argues that the targeted killing is legal "where, as here, the target's activities pose a 'continued and imminent threat of violence or death' to U.S. persons, 'the highest officers in the Intelligence Community have reviewed the factual basis' for the lethal operation, and a capture operation would be infeasible."
Yet the drone memo was redacted before release, leading to the omission of key information, including alleged factual evidence for the government's claim that al-Aulaqi posed a threat to the United States.
Barron claims the killing is justified by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force--a highly controversial and expansive congressional act that has been expansively interpreted by the Bush and Obama administrations to authorize ongoing war and occupation in Afghanistan, covert drone wars in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, military intervention in countries from Ethiopia to Iraq, indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prison, and more.
"We believe that the AUMF's authority to use lethal force abroad also may apply in appropriate circumstances to a United States citizen who is part of the forces of an enemy authorization within the scope of the force authorization," states the memo.
Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei, who was CCR's lead counsel on two lawsuits with the ACLU challenging the killing of Al-Aulaqi, declared in a statement, "The DOJ memo confirms that the government's drone killing program is built on gross distortions of law. This forced transparency comes years late, long after the memo was drafted and used to justify the premeditated killing of a U.S. citizen without trial and far from any battlefield."
She adds, "The United States loosening and redefining international rules governing the use of force and war is ultimately not going to make anyone any safer."
The memo notes that the CIA had an "operational role" in the targeted killing of al-Aulaqi. According to Brett Max Kaufman, Legal Fellow of the ACLU National Security Project, "[T]he official unveiling of this fact should open the door to further disclosures about the CIA's role in the program and about factual information, like numbers of civilian casualties caused by the program, that the government continues to maintain cannot be disclosed to the public."
The Obama administration has for years fought the release of the document but was forced to make it public in response to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times.
"The US drone wars have now been going on for over a decade, have killed thousands of individuals,--including a handful of American citizens, and serves as the cornerstone of President Obama's 'light footprint' national security policy," said Stephen Miles of Win Without War in an interview with Common Dreams. "The American people--in whose name these strikes occur--have a right to know far, far more about this program than they currently do."
"We will continue to press for the release of other documents relating to the targeted-killing program, including other legal memos and documents relating to civilian casualties," said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer.
Journalist Jeremy Scahill noted on Twitter that the memo leaves key questions unanswered:
\u201cFirst known attempt to kill Anwar al Awlaki was Dec. 2009. Legal memo justifying US plot to kill him is dated July 2010.\u201d— jeremy scahill (@jeremy scahill) 1403542231
_____________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.