ACLU Condemns Court for Keeping Details of Obama’s Assassination Program Secret
Source: Raw Story
ACLU condemns court for keeping details of Obamas assassination program secret
By Stephen C. Webster
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 15:58 EST
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said Wednesday that it was saddened by a New Yorks judges decision to keep secret most details pertaining to an Obama administration program that has so far assassinated three American citizens, including one who was not accused of being involved with terrorism.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the ACLU, seeking to determine the administrations legal justification for killing American citizens without charge or trial, was shot down Wednesday (PDF) by the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. The court ruled in favor of the administrations motion for summary judgement on the basis that deliberations over the program were privileged communications, and the ACLU failed to show why they should be exposed to the public.
The three Americans killed by the militarys anti-terrorist strikes are Anwar Al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, and Al-Awlakis 16-year-old son Abdulrahman.
This ruling denies the public access to crucial information about the governments extrajudicial killing of U.S. citizens and also effectively green-lights its practice of making selective and self-serving disclosures, ACLU deputy legal director Jameel Jaffer said in an advisory.
As the judge acknowledges, the targeted killing program raises profound questions about the appropriate limits on government power in our constitutional democracy, Jaffer added. The public has a right to know more about the circumstances in which the government believes it can lawfully kill people, including U.S. citizens, who are far from any battlefield and have never been charged with a crime.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/02/aclu-condemns-court-for-keeping-details-of-obamas-assassination-program-secret
GeorgeGist
(25,327 posts)phuck the Constitution.
bunnies
(15,859 posts)How did I NOT know this? WTF? I have some reading to do...
bananas
(27,509 posts)It was even in political cartoons.
Can't imagine why you didn't hear about it!
You'll find some links in these threads:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=437x3870
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1652455&mesg_id=1653576
bunnies
(15,859 posts)*hangs head* Thanks for the links.
kath
(10,565 posts)(Sadly, I don't know how to copy and paste links on this damned IPad) Article is on Truthout, title "John Cusack interviews law professor Jonathan Turley about Obama administration's war on the Constitution"
Not just shredding the Constitution but also violating international law and Nuremberg principals. Lovely.
Thanks for the info. I think. *sigh*
Solly Mack
(90,803 posts)FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)How the hell are people okay with this???!!!
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)ACLU, please go back and try again.
This has always been beyond disgusting.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)thebard77
(37 posts)When people say that they love Obama and they love their president, I often wonder if they are aware of this. If they are aware of this and don't care well then they support using the bill of rights as toilet paper. I only voted for congressional and local candidates this past November because honestly, I can't get past a president using his authority to kill American citizens without due process. THere was no way in hell that I was going to vote for Romney so there was no Obama support from me. I realize that my single vote is meaningless in the grand scheme of things but it allows me to hold some shred of dignity. I will not support any politician that hides behind unconstitutional laws such as NDAA and the Patriot Act to act as judge, jury and executioner in the form of a drone strike.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)the ACLU, that much is clear, but they aren't getting the Koh memo.
Clinton appointee, put forward by Senator Moynihan.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)A Police State answers to no one.
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Operation Northwoods: The 9/11 You Never Knew
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)triplepoint
(431 posts)Obsession with National Security (#7 of "The 14 Characteristics of Fascism" :
"Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting national security, and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous."
.
.
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*Reference Link:
"Fascism Anyone?" by Laurence W. Britt
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=britt_23_2
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)- That pretty much covers it Frank.........
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)they said the people were not near any battlefield. What is the definition of a battlefield? Could they be in Afghanistan or Pakistan and still be considered not in a battlefield? What about other parts of the Middle East?
Response to davidpdx (Reply #16)
Post removed