Obama Administration okays the execution of a US citizen without any due process or judicial oversight

American-born Anwar al-Awlaki is now on the C.I.A.’s “targeted killing” list that the C.I.A. maintains as part of their secretive drone missile strikes program.

The program, originally authorized by the Bush Administration, allows the C.I.A. to gather evidence through surveillance cameras on unmanned aircrafts and other sources and launch missile strikes against top leaders of Al Qaeda and Taliban. According to Harold Koh, the State Department’s legal advisor, drone strikes against al Qaeda and its allies are lawful as part of the military action authorized by Congress after 9/11 and under the principles of self-defense, and as such these targeted killings are not assassinations. 

As a New York Time article points out, in a traditional war, anyone allied with the enemy regardless of their citizenship is considered a legitimate target. However, in this case Mr. Awlaki is in Yemen, far from the “battlefields” of Afghanistan and Pakistan where the 9/11 perpetrators are believed to be. Moreover, he is a US citizen. Mr. Awlaki was born in New Mexico in 1971 and lived in the US until the age of seven. He spent his teenage years in Yemen but returned to the US, receiving a bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University and a master’s degree at San Diego State. He then went on to be an imam in Denver, California and Virginia. 

While investigation into Mr. Awlaki may show that his actions fall within the realm of treason, he has been linked to various radicals who have targeted the US, which is a federal offense punishable by death, 18 U.S.C. §2381, as a US citizen, he also should be protected by the Fifth Amendment: 

“No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” 

Putting him on the C.I.A. targeted list affords him no due process, judicial review whatsoever.

Ironically, as a US citizen, for the C.I.A. to eavesdrop on Mr. Awlaki, they would need to get a court warrant, however, with the C.I.A. drone program Mr. Awlaki can be designated for death without judicial review.

Recently President Obama expanded the C.I.A. drone program to allow missile strikes against unnamed persons not on a targeted list who are deemed to pose a threat to the US.