Obama Authorizes Assassination of American-Born Jihadist Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, First Known US Citizen to be Approved for Targeted Killing
(Daily Mail)- The Obama administration has authorised the killing of a radical Muslim cleric who is also a U.S. citizen.
It is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing.
Anwar al-Awlaki, believed to be hiding in Yemen, has been tied by U.S. intelligence to the 9/11 hijackers, to the failed Christmas Day bombing in 2009, and to the Fort Hood massacre last year.
The decision to add him to the U.S. target list followed a National Security Council review because of his status as an American citizen.
Officials said Awlaki, 38, directly threatened the United States. 'Al-Awlaki is a proven threat,' said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'He's being targeted.'
A former senior legal official in the administration of George W Bush said he did not know of any American who was approved for targeted killing under the former president.
U.S. intelligence agencies had viewed Awlaki as chiefly an Al Qaeda sympathiser and recruiter for Islamist causes with possible ties to some of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers.
But that assessment started to change late last year with revelations about Awlaki's contacts with both the Nigerian suspect in the attempted Christmas Day bombing and to the U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people at a military base in Texas the previous month.
Rep. Jane Harman, chairwoman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, described Awlaki as 'probably the person, the terrorist, who would be terrorist No. 1 in terms of threat against us.'
The cleric, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, used his personal website to encourage Muslims around the world to kill U.S. troops in Iraq.
LL comments:
IF this is accurate, it would be a horrible breach of security since the 'finding' the president would have to sign to authorize this is a secret document. The regime of barack hussein obama has ushered in a whole new set of rules and perhaps it's no longer classified, but I would find that too strange to be considered.
5 comments:
IF this is accurate, it would be a horrible breach of security since the 'finding' the president would have to sign to authorize this is a secret document.
The regime of barack hussein obama has ushered in a whole new set of rules and perhaps it's no longer classified, but I would find that too strange to be considered.
That's a very good point, LL.
I'll add it to the post.
Thanks.
Pastorius,
As much as I like this story, its actually a bad thing that we are hearing about it. LL is right, this story shouldn't be circulating.
Hi .
I agree, the fact that this story is being broadcast is according to me to blind people, to pretend that the war on terror is still on .
He's just expendable !
Meanwhile all the rest of the war on terror is being scaled down.
Will.
Will,
I thank you for pointing that out. I should have seen that in the first place.
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