Secret Government Panel Can Put Americans on "Kill List'

[Better Believe It]

Secret Panel Can Put Americans on "Kill List'
by Mark Hosenball
October 6, 2011

American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials.

There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House's National Security Council, several current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.

The panel was behind the decision to add Awlaki, a U.S.-born militant preacher with alleged al Qaeda connections, to the target list. He was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen late last month.

The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process.

Read the full article at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/06/us-cia-killlist-idUSTRE79475C20111006

[Uncle Joe]

1. Our modern day Star Chamber.

Thanks for the thread, Better Believe It.

[vets74]

13. Except that there NOTHING SECRET about it. Secretary of Homeland Security manages this process.

This has been part of the international legal system for years. It operates through the United Nations, for registrations, and through Interpol.

These registrations are how the nations of this planet deal with terrorism.

Of course, terrorists get listed. Of course, intelligence resources are what the nations use to make these determinations. Simply put, law enforcement resources are not enough. You have to go military to beat these people.

Anwar al-Awlak and Samir Khan were killed in a military operation.

International law has been expanded over the past 20 years so that anti-terrorist operations are now certified and registered internationally:

1. Law of War is what applies, following a terrorism certification with the U.N.

2. Civilian criminal law is replaced by Law of War during active hostilities.

3. Following 1. and 2. being in place, that Hellfire missile strike in Yemen was military both physically and legally.

As with much of modern law, the details of legal definition for Acts of War were worked through in cases related to insurance policies and civil liability. Act of God is one thing. Act of War is another. Thus:

An act of war is an action by one country against another with an intention to provoke a war or an action that occurs during a declared war or armed conflict between military forces of any origin. The loss or damage caused due to such conflicts are excluded from insurance coverage except for life assurances.

--- USLegal.com, defining Act of War

The simplest, most obvious antiterrorism mechanism on the planet is taken by this writer and portrayed as new, hidden, and immoral.

Easily 100 countries participate. They all get the list.

You will not hear the terrorists objecting to their asserted statuses -- they're proud of it.

[Angry Dragon]

16. A couple of things seem fuzzy

Was Khan on the list??

An act of war is an action by one country against another with an intention to provoke a war or an action that occurs during a declared war or armed conflict between military forces of any origin. The loss or damage caused due to such conflicts are excluded from insurance coverage except for life assurances.

--- USLegal.com, defining Act of War

Are we at war with a country??

Perhaps there was one CIA person in the WTC that had attacked the terrorists and he was the target and they killed him and the rest of the people were just 'collateral damage' so no harm done

The way I see it is when you try to put words to justify your morals then you have lost the war
Morals are by action not words

2. Civilian criminal law is replaced by Law of War during active hostilities.
where were the active hostilities??

I want to see all the links to this shit

International law has been expanded over the past 20 years so that anti-terrorist operations are now certified and registered internationally
I guess we have lists of all the terrorists in the world......... are they required to register also??

[vets74]

19. Clarification on Law of War declarations. Terrorism is dealt with as per piracy.

Pirates and terrorists are accorded special status that opens them to action limited only by Law of War.

This is a fundamental process that is carried out daily through the United Nations. No mystery. Nothing hidden. Fully documented.

Pirates, of course, are not nbamed and registered. They are tracked as with hot pursuit and killed as possible with military force.

"Where are the active hostilities ?"

A joke, that ? Recently we have been logging terrorists acts in the thousands a year worldwide. People are killed by the many thousands, overall.

On the Moon there is no terrorism.

Try the google. Or take a course in international law, or international law enforcement. Read more.

[Angry Dragon]

21. I feel it is up to you to provide the links to support your claims

According to your train of thought then any person in the government of the US is a viable target
they plan they give permissions.

I just look at this as a slippery slope leading to the down fall of this country

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SomethingFishy]

2. "Declined to discuss anything about the process"

No shit. If I were doing something as ILLEGAL as running a secret panel to circumvent the justice system I'd be AFRAID to talk about it too.


You know if G.W. had done this the left would be freaking out, but now? Crickets.

[truebrit71]

3. ..because it's OUR guy that's doing it....

...the fact that he won't always be there, and the Star Chamber will one day be operated by the gop apparently hasn't crossed their minds yet...

[Burma Jones]

4. Behave.....

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Killer Drones are coming to town
We're making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Killer Drones are coming to town
We see you when you're sleeping
We know when you're awake
We know if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Killer Drones are coming to town

[Turbineguy]

5. Luckily

for some people, I'm not on it.

[aquart]

6. Did we elect any of them?

Is this the secret law we aren't allowed to see?

Repeal the Patriot Act in toto. All of it. Then vote for which parts we think were a good idea.

Remember how happy we were that Obama was a "constitutional scholar"?

[mfcorey1]

7. Go away!! Rightwinger

[Bobbie Jo]

11. +1000

Complete phony.

[Scurrilous]

8. Do they take requests? n/t

[Uncle Joe]

9. I don't know but I imagine Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh would be more than happy to give them a few.

[SidDithers]

10. LOL. Your stuff is the best!...

:rofl:



Sid

[sad sally]

12. Who would have thought he US would so aggressively pursue assassination against its citizens

There was, of course, never a golden age of American imperialism. However, the past 35 years have witnessed a collapse of any pretense of legality and a democratic accountability. A policy of state killing is the culmination of a process that includes unending wars of aggression, torture, detention without charge, and the erosion of democratic rights in the United States itself. This has been closely bound up with the transformation of social relations within the US, the rise of a parasitic financial aristocracy and the extraordinary growth of social inequality.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jul2011/pers-j01.shtml?du

[vets74]

14. You are surprised that Obama sics the military on American terrorists ???

You missed the oath of office ? That thingie CJ Roberts screwed up....

[sad sally]

17. Good point...voices of Bush/Cheney had control of Roberts tongue that day.

Unfortunately for us, the President still hasn't been able or willing to shut them out and do what's right.

[SidDithers]

15. Good citizens check for duplicates...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2066316

Sid

[woo me with science]

18. K&R

The ACLU on Obama and Core Liberties.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2069714

[provis99]

20. Assassinate Muslim American terrorist? Check.

Assassinate right wing American terrorists? No check.