MSNBC today published a “white paper” by the Department of Justice — undated by clearly written during the Obama Administration — providing the legal framework for U.S. drones to kill U.S. citizens suspected of involvement in terrorist activity. (Click here to see it.) The document asserts that it would be lawful to kill a United States citizen if “an informed, high-level official” of the government decided that the target was a ranking figure in Al Qaeda who posed “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” and if his capture was not feasible.
That’s screaming out for some parsing. Which “informed, high-level official”? Based on whose information? Who vets the information and is so confident of it to sentence a man or woman to death without trial, defense, judge or jury? Who determines “imminent threat”? And who determines that capture is not feasible?
Surely there’s got to be a way to get closer to our values on something like this.