ACLU, CCR Sue Obama To Block 'Targeted Killings'
NEW YORK — Two civil liberties groups sued the federal government on Monday to try to block its targeted killing overseas of a U.S.-born cleric believed to have inspired recent attacks in the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for the father of cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who's believed to be hiding in his parents' native Yemen. Defendants were President Barack Obama, CIA Director Leon C. Panetta and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.
The groups, both based in New York, said it was unconstitutional to intentionally try to kill al-Awlaki unless he presents a specific imminent threat to life or physical safety and only killing him will eliminate the threat. The Obama administration cited al-Awlaki's growing role with al-Qaida when it placed him on the CIA's list of targets.
Al-Awlaki was put on the list after U.S. intelligence authorities tied him to Sept. 11 hijackers and concluded he had provided inspiration for those who carried out shootings in Fort Hood, Texas, a failed Times Square car bombing and an attempted Christmas Day bombing of a jetliner approaching Detroit.
The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring that the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government's targeted killings of U.S. citizens, including al-Awlaki, unless there's a concrete and imminent threat to life and there's no other way to prevent it.
In a statement, Department of Justice spokesman Matthew Miller defended the U.S. position. He said Congress has authorized the use of all necessary and appropriate force against al-Qaida and associated groups.
"The U.S. is careful to ensure that all its operations used to prosecute the armed conflict against those forces, including lethal operations, comply with all applicable laws, including the laws of war," Miller said.
He said the U.S. government has the authority under domestic and international law and the responsibility to its citizens to use force to defend itself "in a manner consistent with those laws."
"This administration is using every legal measure available to defeat al-Qaeda, and we will continue to do so as long as its forces pose a threat to this nation," Miller said in the statement.
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