DOJ Reasoning in Killing Mr Anwar al-Awlaki Released, After a Fight

For John, BLUF:  When should the Feds target Americans for killing?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The New York Times is not a total waste of ink.  Their lawsuit, joined into by the ACLU, to force the release of the Department of Justice memo justifying the drone attack that killed American Anwar al-Awlaki, in Yemen, back in September 2011, has paid off.

A federal appeals court in New York on Monday made public a redacted version of a 2010 Justice Department memo that signed off on the targeted killing of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, without a trial, following Freedom of Information Act lawsuits.

The memo, signed by David Barron, who was then the acting head of the department’s Office of Legal Counsel and is now a federal appeals court judge in Boston, concluded that it would be lawful to target Mr. Awlaki for killing if his capture was not feasible.  Intelligence analysts had concluded that Mr. Awlaki was an operational terrorist.

We don't have the whole memo, but we have the DOJ legal analysis.  This is important in that as Americans we need to understand when and where our Federal Government is willing to kill us rather than arrest us.  For instance, if drones had been available, would Ruby Ridge have gone differently?  More important, should it have?

Another question is why the Department of Justice prevaricated about the existence of the Memo when first approached?  That doesn't seem very open and transparent.  In fact, given that the sky has not fallen with the release of the legal analysis section, it looks like terrible judgment on the part of DOJ officials.  From Reporter Charlie Savage:

The Obama administration fought the disclosure, initially refusing to confirm or deny the memo’s existence.

This should be added to the list of disappointing things about Attorney General Holder and his Administration of the Department of Justice.

Regards  —  Cliff