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Obama Puts American Cleric on CIA Kill List

Anwar al-Awlaki may be first US citizen targeted for death

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 7, 2010 7:07 AM CDT | Updated Apr 7, 2010 7:55 AM CDT

(Newser) – In what may be an unprecedented move, Barack Obama has authorized the CIA to assassinate an American citizen. The target: Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was born in New Mexico, but now operates out of Yemen. Counterterror officials say he’s a member... Read full story »

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CIA • counterterrorism • assassination • Yemen • al-Qaeda • targeted killing • Anwar al-Awlaki

More Newser Stories

US Can't Use 'Secret Evidence' to Kill a Citizen

Administration must explain the 'legal basis' for this move

(NEWSER) - News that the CIA has been given the green light to assassinate a US citizen has Spencer Ackerman filling out freedom-of-information requests to find out precisely why. We know that Anwar al-Awlaki is a New Mexico native who lives in Yemen and encourages attacks against Americans. The US cites "secret evidence" to say he's moved past the incitement phase into actual operations, but that's not enough to legally justify this extraordinary move, writes Ackerman at the Washington Independent . More»

US Wrote Secret Memo to Let It Kill a Citizen

50-page memo said killing only ok if could not capture

(NEWSER) - The secret memo that allowed the assassination of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen last month justified his killing as legal because he could not be captured alive, reports the New York Times . Completed in June 2010, the 50-page memo also was written narrowly, to deny the general targeted killings of American citizens, and only allowed killing Awlaki because he was active in the war with al-Qaeda, he posed a danger to Americans, and the Yemen government was unable to stop him. More»

Judge Dismisses Father's Suit to Get Son off CIA Kill List

But he's skeptical whether US can order citizen's assassination

(AP) - A judge today threw out a lawsuit aimed at preventing the US from targeting anti-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki for death, but questioned whether a president or his aides can order a US citizen assassinated for terrorist activity. US District Judge John Bates said that he does not have the authority to review the president's military decisions and that al-Awlaki's father does not have the legal right to sue to stop the US from killing his son. But Bates also said the "unique and extraordinary case" raised vital considerations of national security and for military and foreign affairs. More»

US Cites State Secrets, Asks Judge to Dismiss Suit

Case involves US citizen as CIA target

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration has for the fourth time summoned the "state secrets" argument in asking that a lawsuit be dismissed, reports the Washington Post . White House lawyers told a federal judge today that a suit on behalf of Anwar al-Awlaki —a US citizen who's on the CIA's capture-or-kill list because of his ties to al-Qaeda—would jeopardize national security. More»

Biggest US Error Was to Miss Yemen Threat

Seems we didn't know they were capable of launching terrorists

(NEWSER) - In all the news yesterday about US intelligence lapses, one "startling concession" stands out to Marc Ambinder: Security chief John Brennan admitted that the US didn't realize al-Qaeda's organization in Yemen—al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula—had "progressed to the point of actually launching individuals here." As a result, chatter from there about plots against the US went largely unheeded. More»

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Obama Puts American Cleric on CIA Kill List

Anwar al-Awlaki may be first US citizen targeted for death

CIA • counterterrorism • assassination • Yemen • al-Qaeda • targeted killing • Anwar al-Awlaki

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More Newser Stories

US Can't Use 'Secret Evidence' to Kill a Citizen

Administration must explain the 'legal basis' for this move

US Wrote Secret Memo to Let It Kill a Citizen

50-page memo said killing only ok if could not capture

Judge Dismisses Father's Suit to Get Son off CIA Kill List

But he's skeptical whether US can order citizen's assassination

US Cites State Secrets, Asks Judge to Dismiss Suit

Case involves US citizen as CIA target

Biggest US Error Was to Miss Yemen Threat

Seems we didn't know they were capable of launching terrorists

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