[Peace-discuss] He's doing it in our name, with no legal authority

[C. G. Estabrook]

The New York Times is reporting President Obama personally oversees a  
"kill list" containing the names and photos of individuals targeted  
for assassination in the secret U.S. drone war. According to the  
Times, Obama signs off on every targeted killing in Yemen and Somalia  
and the more complex or risky strikes in Pakistan. National Security  
Adviser Thomas Donilon said, "He is determined that he will make these  
decisions about how far and wide these operations will go." Obama is  
also said to personally approve every addition to the expanding "kill  
list." Individuals on the list include U.S. citizens, as well teenage  
girls as young as 17 years old. The Times quotes former White House  
Chief of Staff William Daley about Obama’s decision to assassinate  
Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, in Yemen. According to Daley, Obama  
called the decision to strike the U.S.-born cleric "an easy one."  
Since April, the United States has carried out at least 14 drone  
strikes in Yemen and six in Pakistan. Over the weekend, a U.S. drone  
strike in Yemen killed at least five people.