老澳门开奖结果

Today we filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to demand that the government release basic 鈥� and accurate 鈥� information about the government鈥檚 targeted killing program.

Our government鈥檚 deliberate and premeditated killing of American terrorism suspects raises profound questions that ought to be the subject of public debate. Unfortunately the Obama administration has released very little information about the practice 鈥� its official position is that the targeted killing program is a state secret 鈥� and some of the information it has released has been misleading.

Our suit overlaps with the one recently insofar as it seeks the legal memos on which the targeted killing program is based. But our suit is broader. We鈥檙e seeking, in addition to the legal memos, the government鈥檚 evidentiary basis for strikes that killed three Americans in Yemen in the fall of 2011. We鈥檙e also seeking information about the process by which the administration adds Americans to secret government 鈥渒ill lists.鈥� We think it鈥檚 crucial that the administration release the legal memos, but we don鈥檛 think the memos alone will allow the public to evaluate the lawfulness and wisdom of the program.

We know something about the fall 2011 strikes from media reports. On September 30, the CIA and the military鈥檚 Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) jointly carried out the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico, using missiles fired from unmanned drones in Yemen. A second U.S. citizen, Samir Khan, was killed in the same attack. Two weeks later, Anwar al-Awlaki鈥檚 son, Abdulrahman, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen born in Colorado, was killed in another U.S. drone strike elsewhere in Yemen. The administration has not adequately explained the legal basis for these strikes, and it has not explained the factual basis, either.

Soon after the fall 2011 strikes, we submitted a FOIA request to the CIA, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice (DOJ). Three months later, we have yet to receive a single document in response. Outrageously, the CIA and the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel responded by refusing to confirm or deny the existence or nonexistence of records responsive to our request. Essentially, these agencies are saying the targeted killing program is so secret that they can鈥檛 even acknowledge that it exists.

This response is incredible, in the original sense of that word鈥攊t simply lacks credibility. The press has reported since early 2010 that Anwar al-Awlaki had been placed on 鈥渒ill lists鈥� maintained by the and , and articles have discussed in detail the by which he was placed there. After the killings of the three U.S. citizens last fall, newspapers reported extensive details about the strikes, including how the and the number of drones involved. The Times described a that lays out the Administration鈥檚 legal justifications for placing al-Awlaki on the kill lists and killing him. Much of the reporting was based on statements by government officials, albeit officials who were unwilling to be quoted for attribution.

Some officials, including President Obama, have spoken on the record about the program. They have for , and they have more generally defended the government鈥檚 after a secret non-judicial process. Just last week, that the U.S. can and does carry out targeted killings of U.S. citizens subject to the recommendations of the CIA Director and the Secretary of Defense and pursuant to the President鈥檚 authorization. And this week, President Obama the CIA targeted killing program in a [starts at minute 26:30].

The government鈥檚 toward transparency and disclosure is unacceptable. Officials cannot be allowed to release bits of information about the targeted killing program when they think it will bolster their position, but refuse even to confirm the existence of a targeted killing program when organizations like the 老澳门开奖结果 or journalists file FOIA requests in the service of real transparency and accountability. One news report indicates that the Obama administration about the targeted killing program. Let鈥檚 hope that鈥檚 true. The public has a right to know the evidence and legal basis for the deliberate targeted killing of U.S. citizens. So chilling a power must be opened to public scrutiny and debate.

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