Obama Admin : Anyone of us can order drone killing without evidence
Satyavira Wed, 02/06/2013 - 2:12am
WASHINGTON -- A report Monday night on the nature of the administration's drone program has the potential to dramatically revamp the debate over President Barack Obama's foreign policy and the confirmation process for his incoming cabinet.
The report, by Michael Isikoff of NBC News, reveals that the Obama administration believes that high-level administration officials -- not just the president -- may order the killing of “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or an associated force even without evidence they are actively plotting against the U.S.
“A lawful killing in self-defense is not an assassination,” states the Justice Department white paper quoted by Isikoff.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/doj-drones-paper_n_2619582.html
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Dear Obama apologists, are
Dear Obama apologists, are things sinking in now?
Hopefully...
Majority of Americans Say Federal Government Threatens Freedom
Pollsters from Across the Political Spectrum Say that Americans Distrust Government
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/02/majority-of-americans-say-federal-government-threatens-freedom.html
Unfortunately
Unfortunately, whatever people say to pollsters isn't going to matter much so long as so many of them (roughly 98% of voters) keep sticking with the same damn parties that have built this police / perpetual warfare state.
We're ALL al Qaeda now.
Since there is no formal definition of "al Qaeda" ANYONE is now at risk of being murdered by order of those in authority. And since the state/administration doesn't have to provide evidence that the target belongs to, or aids and abets that shadowy group, ANYONE who is assassinated by the government can be easily tarred or labeled as an "al Qaeda" member - dead people can't defend themselves, and the public are reluctant/fearful to question, on account of *their* being seen as "sympathetic to terrorism" as well.
Assassination is just a part of the route towards totalitarianism and a police state - imprisonment is a tad less messy. Anyone can now be arrested, jailed, denied bail, denied a fair and speedy trial, and denied access to legal counsel. Anyone may be now be incarcerated indefinitely (perhaps for life), without a shred of evidence, and denied the ability to face his/her accusers, just because the president and lower authorities now have that POWER. Anyone who is considered a thorn in the side of the authorities, especially activists who hold the powers-that-be accountable for their actions, can now be disposed of without having to abide by the normal court/legal procedures of civilized society.
Is this line of thinking paranoid? Hell, no. If a small handful of rogue but powerful elements within our authority structure are capable of murdering 3000 people on 9/11 in order to gain public support for their otherwise unsellable agenda, then they will think nothing of labeling anyone they disapprove of as "terrorists" and subsequently disposing of them, either by imprisonment or terminally.
This is one of the many legacies of 9/11. We are ALL al Qaeda now.
Bush and Obama Have Set Us Back 800 Years
The White House is “Judge, Jury and Executioner” of Both Drone and Cyber-Attacks
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/02/the-white-house-is-judge-jury-and-executioner-of-both-drone-and-cyber-attacks.html
How do I cooperate?
I don't.
I do not support these policies. My non-cooperation is not half-assed. If you contribute even a little you have blood on your hands.
Every military action outside the USA is an act of aggression specifically prohibited by our Constitution. We have no military authority except for national defense within our borders, if attacked.
Somehow I doubt it will end. The agenda is to smash things and create misery. As soon as it becomes acceptable elsewhere the tyrants will turn the sights on us and they will probably get away with plenty.
Remember, it doesn't necessarily mean a soldier in a helicopter, bomber or tank. War is being waged from the air, in our food and water. They assault us by putting toxins in vaccines and over prescribing pharmaceuticals.
Are you cooperating with any of this?
(UPDATE) Obama To Provide Drones Memo To Congress
"President Barack Obama has directed the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to grant congressional intelligence committees access to a classified memo outlining the administration's legal justification for targeted killing, an administration official said Wednesday evening.
The administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the president personally made the decision to release the memo".
A leading lawmaker in the drive for access to the memos, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), welcomed Obama's decision but suggested more disclosure was necessary. "This is an encouraging first step," Wyden told the Associated Press. "There is now an opportunity to build on it."
Earlier Wednesday, Wyden said he would "pull out all the stops to get the actual legal analysis, because without it, in effect, the administration is, in effect, practicing secret law." He also accused the White House of stonewalling.
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/obama-drones-memo_n_2634535.html
2. http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/02/obama-reverses-course-approves-providing-legal-advice-156326.html
Obama Releases Legal Justification For His Killing Of Americans
Obama Releases Legal Justification For His Killing Of Americans (To Members Of Cong
February 06, 2013 CNN
http://MOXNews.com
Update II : Sen Feinstein : "This is upsetting"
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) revealed Thursday that the government refused to allow staffers with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to view the memo that lays out the legal rationale for the government’s targeted killing program.
“Our staff were banned from seeing it this morning,” Feinstein told John Brennan at a hearing on his confirmation as CIA director. “We have lawyers and very good staff. This is upsetting to a number of members. We depend on our staff because you can't take material home. You can't take notes with you, so the staff becomes very important.”
The CIA’s biggest ally in Congress for its targeted killing program is Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. But there’ll be hell to pay at Langley if Feinstein learns the CIA is misrepresenting how many civilians its lethal Predator and Reaper drones kill, she indicated to Danger Room on Friday.
“This is something that I think we would get straight figures [on],” Feinstein told Danger Room after White House aide John Brennan’s Thursday confirmation hearing to run the CIA. “If we don’t get straight figures, it’s a whole new situation.”
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/drones-memo_n_2639610.html
2.http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/02/feinstein-drone-deaths/
isn't any figure too many?
isn't any figure too many?
American Citizens Split On DOJ Memo
http://www.theonion.com/articles/american-citizens-split-on-doj-memo-authorizing-go,31207/
Psychopaths Inc.
There is a word for executing/murdering people without due process, without legal representation, without a trial, and without evidence. Its called TERRORISM.
There is are words and phrases that accurately describe the mental state of people who can authorize this kind of arbitrary killing on a whim: for example "paranoid", "delusional", and "psychopathic". What a mess, that our system allows people with the aforementioned traits to reach positions of power and influence.
House Judiciary Committee Demands Access To Drone Memo
"WASHINGTON -- The bipartisan leadership of the House Judiciary Committee is requesting access to the Obama administration's classified opinions that justify drone strikes on Americans, arguing that the committee's jurisdiction over civil liberties necessitates that they view the information.
"The House Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction in this area is clear: we are the congressional committee with responsibility over civil liberties, the Constitution, and criminal law enforcement, as well as oversight of the Justice Department," wrote six members of the House Judiciary Committee in a letter to the White House. The members included Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Reps. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).
This week, President Barack Obama authorized the Justice Department to share legal opinions with the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. The announcement seemed to be in reference to a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo from 2010 that justified the 2011 CIA drone strike on American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who joined al Qaeda in Yemen".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/08/drone-memo-house-judiciary-committee_n_2648013.html