US Forced to Release Memo on Extrajudicial Drone Killing of US Citizen
Court-ordered release of DOJ 'drone memo' reveals legal arguments for targeting of US citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen
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:
_____________________
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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:
_____________________
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:
_____________________