The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) have filed a lawsuit intended to block the U.S. government from pursuing a plan to kill American-born radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, now hiding in Yemen.
The ACLU's suit, filed on behalf of al-Awlaki's father, challenges the Obama administration's constitutional authority to conduct "targeted killings" of American citizens living outside areas of armed conflict "without trial or conviction."
A 39-year-old native of Las Cruces, N.M., Anwar al-Awlaki (A.K.A. Anwar al-Aulaqi), is believed to be the only U.S. citizen on the CIA's "kill list" of known terrorist operatives.
In July 2010, the U.S. Treasury Department identified al-Awlaki (al-Aulaqi) as a key leader of the Yemen-based terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
"Anwar al-Aulaqi has proven that he is extraordinarily dangerous, committed to carrying out deadly attacks on Americans and others worldwide," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey in a press release. "He has involved himself in every aspect of the supply chain of terrorism -- fundraising for terrorist groups, recruiting and training operatives, and planning and ordering attacks on innocents."
On August 4, 2010, the New York Times called al-Awlaki "perhaps the most prominent English-speaking advocate of violent jihad against the United States."
The ACLU and CCR contend that in considering a policy of targeted killings, the Obama administration has exceeded it its authority under both the Constitution and international law.
"The United States cannot simply execute people, including its own citizens, anywhere in the world based on its own say-so," said Vince Warren, Executive Director of CCR in a press release. "The law prohibits the government from killing without trial or conviction other than in the face of an imminent threat that leaves no time for deliberation or due process.
Added Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU, "We don't sentence people to prison on the basis of secret criteria, and we certainly shouldn't sentence them to death that way. It is not enough for the executive branch to say 'trust us' -- we have seen that backfire in the past and we should learn from those mistakes."
Comments
FIND HIM AND KILL HIM