Legal Case For Drone Strikes On American Citizens? Welcome To Wackville.

I can't wait to see how my liberal friends spin this one.  I'm seriously going to pop some popcorn now just to enjoy the spin-show, because there is NO WAY AROUND the absolute WACK of this, you guys.

A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S."

The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects abroad, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the  September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.

And if you're so inclined to read about us going to hell in a handbasket at the hands of an overbearing government, you can read the entire white paper ("memo") here.  

In that paper, there is a "more expansive definition of self-defense or imminent attack."  It talks about a "broader concept of imminence than actual intelligence about any ongoing plot against the U.S. homeland."

Instead, it says,  an “informed, high-level” official of the U.S. government may determine that the targeted American  has been “recently” involved in “activities” posing a threat of a violent attack and “there is  no evidence suggesting that he has renounced or abandoned such activities.” The memo does not define “recently” or “activities.” 

Pffft.  Why bother defining crap?  I mean, this is the administration that finds out about what's in bills AFTER THEY BECOME LAW.  Hello.

And I can't believe I'm actually typing these words, but I agree with the ACLU when they made the following statement about the policies put forth in this white paper:

“This is a chilling document,” said Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the ACLU, which is suing to obtain administration memos about the targeted killing of Americans.  “Basically, it argues that the government has the right to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen. … It recognizes some limits on the authority it sets out, but the limits are elastic and vaguely defined, and it’s easy to see how they could be manipulated."

And now I need to be on the lookout for pigs flying in my general vicinity.

Holy. Mother. Of. WACK.