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New
York Times
Congress
to See Memo Backing Drone
Attacks on Americans
By Michael D. Shear and Scott Shane
February 6, 2013
WASHINGTON
— The White House on
Wednesday directed the Justice Department to release to the two
Congressional
Intelligence Committees classified documents discussing the legal
justification
for killing, by drone strikes and other means, American citizens abroad
who are
considered terrorists.
The
White House announcement
appears to refer to a long, detailed 2010 memo from the Justice
Department’s
Office of Legal Counsel justifying the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an
American-born cleric who had joined Al Qaeda in Yemen. He was killed in
a
C.I.A. drone strike in September 2011. Members of Congress have long
demanded
access to the legal memorandum.
The
decision to release the legal
memo to the Intelligence Committees came under pressure, two days after
a
bipartisan group of 11 senators joined a growing chorus asking for more
information about the legal justification for targeted killings,
especially of
Americans.
The
announcement also came on the
eve of the confirmation hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon for
John O.
Brennan, President Obama’s choice to be director of the C.I.A., who has
been
the chief architect of the drone program as Mr. Obama’s
counterterrorism
adviser.
Critics
accused Mr. Obama of
hypocrisy for keeping the legal opinions on targeted killing secret,
noting
that in 2009 he had ordered the public release of the classified memos
governing
C.I.A. interrogations under President George W. Bush. Administration
officials
replied that the so-called enhanced interrogations had been stopped,
while
drone strikes continue.
Until
Wednesday, the administration
had refused to even officially acknowledge the existence of the
documents,
which have been reported about in the press. This week, NBC News
obtained an
unclassified, shorter “white paper” that detailed some of the legal
analysis
about killing a citizen and was apparently derived from the classified
Awlaki
memorandum. The paper said the United States could target a citizen if
he was a
senior operational leader of Al Qaeda involved in plots against the
country and
if his capture was not feasible.
Administration
officials said Mr.
Obama had decided to take the action, which they described as
extraordinary,
out of a desire to involve Congress in the development of the legal
framework
for targeting specific people to be killed in the war against Al Qaeda.
Aides
noted that Mr. Obama had made a pledge to do that during an appearance
on “The
Daily Show” last year.
“Today,
as part of the president’s
ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security
matters, the
president directed the Department of Justice to provide the
Congressional Intelligence
Committees access to classified Office of Legal Counsel advice related
to the
subject of the Department of Justice white paper,” said an
administration
official who requested anonymity to discuss the handling of classified
material.
Read
the rest of the article at the New York
Times
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