Monday, July 7, 2014

Memo Justifying al Awlaki Assassination Does End-Run Around the US Constitution

From:  Activist Post


COMMENT - What does being an American mean to people who profit from tyranny?  Hope your 4th of July was lots of fun, Green Hills Team.

Janet Phelan
Activist Post

In response to a Freedom of Information Request filed by the ACLU, the Department of Justice this week released the memo providing legal analysis in support of justification for the 2011 assassination of Anwar al Awlaki, a US national living in Yemen.

Al Awlaki, who was born in New Mexico, was a Muslim cleric considered to be in a leadership position in Al Qaeda. He was killed in a targeted drone strike in Yemen, after Obama placed him on the targeted assassination list in 2010. The fact that President Obama had taken the unprecedented step of ordering the assassination of a US citizen was repeatedly highlighted in the press. The ACLU went to court to attempt to inhibit the assassination, albeit unsuccessfully.

The DOJ memo, authored by David Barron, is a compelling study in government double speak. Large chunks of the memo were redacted before its release, with approximately ¼ removed from public purview.

What was made available to the public delves into the legal inhibitions which might come into play with a targeted government murder of a US citizen. Title 18 Section 1119 of the US Code is referenced repeatedly, and the prohibitions against murder contained in this section resolved essentially due to the invocation of “public authority.” MORE