Obama Weighs Killing Another American with a Drone Strike

February 10, 2014 in Montana

by lizard

Man, it must be tough being president. President Obama is currently grappling with a difficult decision. Should he kill another American with a drone strike? And how is he going to make it “legal”? Apparently Obama’s pledge to shift drone killing from the CIA to the Pentagon has further complicated the issue:

An American citizen who is a member of al-Qaeda is actively planning attacks against Americans overseas, U.S. officials say, and the Obama administration is wrestling with whether to kill him with a drone strike and how to do so legally under its new stricter targeting policy issued last year.

The CIA drones watching him cannot strike because he’s a U.S. citizen and the Justice Department must build a case against him, a task it hasn’t completed.

Four U.S. officials said the American suspected terrorist is in a country that refuses U.S. military action on its soil and that has proved unable to go after him. And President Barack Obama‘s new policy says American suspected terrorists overseas can only be killed by the military, not the CIA, creating a policy conundrum for the White House.

Remember, it’s only killing Americans without due process that creates conundrums. Killing foreigners in countries we aren’t at war with remains conundrum-free.

To keep us informed about Obama’s killing machine and the other fun tools of state control, The Intercept launches today—Greenwald and Scahill’s new online home.

Have a good Monday, comrades.