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Obama Will Explain When It's Okay to Kill Americans, But He's Only Telling a Few Senators
Lawmakers have been demanding to see the Obama administration's justification for the use of armed drones on Americans suspected of terrorism for more than a year, but the administration hadn't even officially acknowledged that the documents exist.
On Wednesday President Obama finally directed the Justice Department to make them available to the Congressional Intelligence Committees. An administration official explained that this is just "part of the president's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters." Certainly it had nothing to do with members of Congress suggesting that they would hold up the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA chief if the administration refused to turn over the documents.
The controversy escalated this week after a white paper outlining the administration's legal rationale for targeting Americans in drone attacks was leaked by NBC News. On Thursday morning the committees will receive a longer and more detailed memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel that justifies the killing of New Mexico-born Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011.
Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the New York Times that President Obama called him on Wednesday evening and said that "effective immediately he was going to make the legal opinions available and he also hoped that there could be a broader conversation." Though, not too broad. As Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the ACLU, noted, the document won't be shared with the Armed Services Committees or the Judiciary Committees, which also oversee agencies involved in the drone program. Anders said the public should be able to see at least some parts of the memo as well, since "Everyone has a right to know when the government believes it can kill Americans and others."
Obama might have temporarily defused one of the most contentious issues raised by Brennan's nomination, but Congress still has plenty to grill him about. Brennan was involved in the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation techniques and is a witness in two investigations into national security leaks under the Obama administraion. Plus, the targeting of American suspected of terrorism is far from the only questionable aspect of the drone program.
nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/obama-explains-when-its-okay-to-kill-americans.html
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Lawmakers have been demanding to see the Obama administration's justification for the use of armed drones on Americans suspected of terrorism for more than a year, but the administration hadn't even officially acknowledged that the documents exist.
On Wednesday President Obama finally directed the Justice Department to make them available to the Congressional Intelligence Committees. An administration official explained that this is just "part of the president's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters." Certainly it had nothing to do with members of Congress suggesting that they would hold up the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA chief if the administration refused to turn over the documents.
The controversy escalated this week after a white paper outlining the administration's legal rationale for targeting Americans in drone attacks was leaked by NBC News. On Thursday morning the committees will receive a longer and more detailed memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel that justifies the killing of New Mexico-born Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011.
Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the New York Times that President Obama called him on Wednesday evening and said that "effective immediately he was going to make the legal opinions available and he also hoped that there could be a broader conversation." Though, not too broad. As Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the ACLU, noted, the document won't be shared with the Armed Services Committees or the Judiciary Committees, which also oversee agencies involved in the drone program. Anders said the public should be able to see at least some parts of the memo as well, since "Everyone has a right to know when the government believes it can kill Americans and others."
Obama might have temporarily defused one of the most contentious issues raised by Brennan's nomination, but Congress still has plenty to grill him about. Brennan was involved in the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation techniques and is a witness in two investigations into national security leaks under the Obama administraion. Plus, the targeting of American suspected of terrorism is far from the only questionable aspect of the drone program.
nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/obama-explains-when-its-okay-to-kill-americans.html
Sent via Tapatalk from a galaxy far far away