[Peace-discuss] Conyers Statement at Oversight Hearing on Drones

[Robert Naiman]

A little bird told me there might be subpoenas.

 * *

[image: cid:image001.png at 01CDF3D2.B9E27440]****

For Immediate Release ****

Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013****

Contact: Andrew Schreiber – 202-225-6906****

           ****

*Conyers Statement at Oversight Hearing on Drones *

** **

*(WASHINGTON) – This morning, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a
full committee oversight hearing entitled, “Drones and the War on Terror:
When Can the U.S. Target Alleged American Terrorists Overseas?” Ranking
Member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.)
delivered the following statement during his opening remarks:*

** **

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I very much appreciate that our Committee is
examining such a pressing matter:  the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or
‘drones,’ to strike at suspected terrorists abroad.  ****

** **

“Let me be clear: the House Judiciary Committee has direct jurisdiction
over this issue. We are the Committee in the best position to assess the
serious constitutional and civil rights questions presented by the drone
program. Our Committee also has direct oversight of the Department of
Justice, which has issued legal opinions, albeit classified, that purport
to establish the legal basis for the use of lethal force against terrorist
suspects.****

** **

“Over the course of the 112th Congress, I, along with my colleagues
Representatives Jerry Nadler and Bobby Scott, wrote several letters to
Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to share those legal opinions with
the Committee.  These letter requests were made on January 18, 2012, May
21, 2012, and December 4, 2012. Although we did not receive the requested
memoranda, the Justice Department did provide us with a copy of the
recently-publicized white paper on the targeted killing of U.S. citizens.
Unfortunately, the white paper raises more questions than it answers, and
does little to address our concerns regarding the broader use of lethal
force against terrorist suspects. On February 8, 2013, Chairman Goodlatte
and I, together with Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner, Trent Franks, Jerry
Nadler, and Bobby Scott, wrote to President Obama to renew our request for
all legal opinions related to the drone programs.  ****

** **

“I am pleased that we have reached a clear, bipartisan consensus on this
issue: this Committee requires those documents to fulfill its oversight
responsibilities, and we will work together to convince the Administration
to satisfy our request.****

** **

“The need for oversight is clear.  I am not convinced, as the title of the
hearing may suggest, by the Administration’s legal rationale for the
targeted killing of a United States citizen overseas.  The white paper
describes a balancing test for Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights tilted so
far in favor of government interests that a potential target appears to
have little chance at meaningful due process when he is nominated to the
so-called ‘kill list.’****

** **

“I also remain unconvinced about the targeted killing of terrorist suspects
who are non-citizens. Although the Administration appears to rest its claim
of authority on the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by
Congress in 2001, it is not clear to me that Congress intended to sanction
lethal force against a loosely-defined enemy in an indefinite conflict with
no borders and no discernible end date.****

** **

“And I remain deeply troubled by the widely reported use of so-called
‘signature strikes,’ where suspects display suspicious activity but their
identities are unknown prior to the government’s use of lethal force
against them. To date, the Administration has not even acknowledged that
this program exists—let alone provided this Committee with the information
it requires to examine the legality of the program.****

** **

“I am, of course, aware that drones offer a relatively precise means for
targeting our enemies.  If used responsibly, they can limit civilian
casualties and do so without putting additional American troops in danger.
But we must be mindful that the rest of the world is watching us.****

** **

“In a recent interview, General Stanley McChrystal—the principal architect
of U.S. counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan—reminded us that ‘the
resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes . . . is much
greater than the average American appreciates.’ He continued, ‘They are
hated on a visceral level, even by people who have never seen one or seen
the effects of one.’****

** **

“No matter how far removed we are from the battlefield, we must remember
that it still feels like war when the missiles strike. And, the United
States will not be the only nation with this tactical capability for much
longer. Accordingly, the decisions we make—the process this Committee finds
necessary before our government may lawfully kill a suspected terrorist,
whether or not that suspect is a citizen—will set the example for those who
follow.****

** **

“I thank the Chairman, and I yield back.”****

** **

###****


-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20130227/bf9c79d3/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 63064 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20130227/bf9c79d3/attachment-0001.png>