A court battle has been brewing over a challenge by two civil rights groups to the Obama administration’s Predator drone strike program, which began under the Bush Administration and has continued under President Obama’s watch. At the center of that battle is Anwar al Awlaki, the Yemeni cleric infamous for his mentoring of Major Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter, and his role inspiring the failed Christmas Day and Times Square attacks. Months ago, Awlaki’s name was added to the CIA target to capture or kill list for his implications in these plots. The issue is whether Awlaki should be provided representation in court, a right he lost when his name was added to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s list of specially designated global terrorist last month. Being added to this list makes it illegal for anyone to represent them in court without obtaining a license from the Treasury Department.
Anwar al-Awlaki’s father, Nassir, has enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights to help him obtain the license needed to have gain for his son. Awlaki’s father has been fighting to have his son’s name removed from CIA kill list, which the ACLU feels is out of bounds considering he hasn’t been indicted in the US. Visiting with Awlaki’s father in Yemen, attorneys retained by the elder Awlaki had this to say:
“There’s no question that the government has the authority to use lethal force against Americans who join the Taliban, say, or who join the insurgency in Iraq,” the ACLU’s Jaffer said. “But the United States is not at war in Yemen, and the government doesn’t have a blank check to kill terrorism suspects wherever they are in the world. Among the arguments we’ll be making is that, outside actual war zones, the authority to use lethal force is narrowly circumscribed, and preserving the rule of law depends on keeping this authority narrow.”
The lawsuit by these two groups is that latest challenge to the Obama Administration’s Predator drone strike program. On March 16, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the the Defense Department, the State Department, and the Justice Department, demanding enforcement of its January request for information on the program.
As to whether or not Awlaki would receive representation, the Treasury Department indicated that it may indeed grant the ACLU and the CCR the license to represent Awlaki. From OFAC Director Adam Szubin via the AP:
“To the extent that the particular legal services that the ACLU wishes to provide in this instance do not fall into any of the broad categories that are generally licensed, OFAC will work with the ACLU to ensure that the legal services can be delivered,” Szubin said in a statement.
Adding:
“It is “significantly misleading” to say that OFAC regulations prohibit lawyers from giving free representation to people on the terrorist list unless the government gives them permission, said Adam Szubin, OFAC’s director.”
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“There’s no question that the government has the authority to use lethal force against Americans who join the Taliban, say, or who join the insurgency in Iraq,” the ACLU’s Jaffer said. “But the United States is not at war in Yemen, and the government doesn’t have a blank check to kill terrorism suspects wherever they are in the world. Among the arguments we’ll be making is that, outside actual war zones, the authority to use lethal force is narrowly circumscribed, and preserving the rule of law depends on keeping this authority narrow.”
The right to self-defense is paramount especially in time of war. Obama is obligated to eliminate the threat posed by Awlaki pursuant to the oath he took as President for his own personal safety to prevent himself from being assasinated by Awlaki’s directives, in addition to his constitutional obligation to defend this Country.
I say make a sound judgment and good faith determination if he could be captured when spotted, but if not then he (and the very real threat he poses to our national security) be eliminated.
Awlaki is not a soldier in uniform on a battlefield, but is an international terrorist and an international war criminal.
In addition, Awlaki lost any claim to being accorded the rights of an American citizen when he left the United States and decided to take up arms against the United States.
Congress in response to the 9/11 attacks in its authorization to use force (which is the equivalent to a declaration of war) gave explicit authorization for such directives to the executive branch to take whatever means or actions necessary in order to prevent future attacks.
James, you are mostly correct in your reasoning. However, there should be some judicial oversight of the executive’s power to assassinate overseas targets within the borders of sovereign nations not at war with the US, especially American citizens. It is a slippery slope. Awlaki should be killed, I agree, but this is a thornier issue than that.
@James: “In addition, Awlaki lost any claim to being accorded the rights of an American citizen when he left the United States and decided to take up arms against the United States.”
Not legally he didn’t. He hasn’t renounced his citizenship (AFAIK) so he is still a citizen. You should really point out that this is IYHO not actually fact as you’ve said it a couple of times now.
As Mike says this is a thorny issue but one with precedent. The fundamental question is are we at war with these guys and can we involve the right to self-defense against non-nation state actors that are dispersed across the globe. In fact it goes to a comment Bill made today about the strategy in Afghanistan: how do you define who we are fighting? It’s never been done with any precision.
KP, my contention is that just because someone is born in the US doesn’t mean that they should be granted the full rights of US citizens permanently. Maybe tentatively, but not permanently.
And, actions should speak louder than words on this matter.
In substance, he has renounced his US citizenship by leaving the US and taking up arms against the US and the US Constitution.
A traitor is worse than an enemy.
Anwar Awlaki of Sanaa University, a place he may well call “home.”
Wherever he might be at any given moment in time, you’d better believe that he will be well-“embedded” with the educational “elite” (in Yemen).
I’d love to “volunteer” for service with the CIA. Give me a good computer and a decent high speed internet connection and at least a minimal amount of data they have on him and I bet I’ll locate this guy or at least to the general area he’s in.
The reason I emphasize this is because this guy has the potential of becoming worse than bin laden and bin laden has plenty to worry about his own safety while this guy may not.