{"id":236791,"date":"2010-01-27T10:46:51","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T15:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nw0.eu\/?p=5509"},"modified":"2010-01-27T10:46:51","modified_gmt":"2010-01-27T15:46:51","slug":"report-bush-order-allowing-murder-of-us-citizens-abroad-still-in-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/236791","title":{"rendered":"Report: Bush order allowing murder of US citizens abroad still in effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephen C. Webster
\nRaw Story<\/a>
\nWednesday, January 27th, 2010<\/p>\n

If a United States citizen was determined to have joined a foreign terrorist group, that person could be legally murdered under orders given by President George W. Bush after the 9\/11<\/a> attacks.<\/p>\n

In spite of an administration change in Washington, D.C., that allowance is still in effect, according to a late-breaking report in The Washington Post<\/em> on Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The report delves into an increasing American role in Yemen, spotlighting an effort to capture or kill Anwar al Awlaki<\/a>, an American citizen who exchanged e-mails with alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Bush gave the CIA<\/a>, and later the military, authority to kill U.S. citizens abroad if strong evidence existed that an American was involved in organizing or carrying out terrorist actions against the United States or U.S. interests, military and intelligence officials said,\u201d the Post<\/em> reported. \u201cThe evidence has to meet a certain, defined threshold. The person, for instance, has to pose \u2018a continuing and imminent threat to U.S. persons and interests,\u2019 said one former intelligence official.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Obama<\/a> administration has adopted the same stance. If a U.S. citizen joins al-Qaeda, \u2018it doesn\u2019t really change anything from the standpoint of whether we can target them,\u2019 said a senior administration official. \u2018They are then part of the enemy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAwlaki has not been charged with any crimes under U.S. law,\u201d ABC News noted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ABC added that unnamed officials had expressed concern that chances to \u201ctake out\u201d al Awlaki had been missed while authorities grappled with the legal ramifications of murdering a U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n

U.S. involvement in Yemen is largely being directed by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), according to the Post<\/em>. The command was perhaps best known as former Vice President Dick Cheney\u2019s \u201cexecutive assassination squad,\u201d first revealed<\/a> by veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the CIA<\/a> and the JSOC maintain lists of individuals, called the \u2018High Value Targets\u2019 and \u2018High Value Individuals,\u2019 whom they seek to kill or capture,\u201d the Post<\/em> continued. \u201cThe JSOC list includes three Americans, including Aulaqi, whose name was added late last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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