[Peace-discuss] Outlaw Drone Strikes in the United States

[Robert Naiman]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 1:00 PM
Subject: Outlaw Drone Strikes in the United States
To: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org


 [image: Just Foreign
Policy]<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=6X56uMld9m5TgBfME6gGo9ypVTrGjHJb>

Dear Robert,

*Tell your Senators to support S. 505, a bill that would prohibit drone
strikes in the United States.
*
Take Action<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Pot6a4onl0ne1YHlgUdKSNypVTrGjHJb>

 You have to start somewhere.

*Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have introduced a bill that would prohibit
drone strikes in the United States.* If this bill is passed into law, it
would mark the first time that Congress has acted to limit the "war without
borders" created by the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in 2001
after the 9/11 attacks. At long last, the "global war on terror" would have
a boundary. *Passage of the bill would create a precedent: Congress can act
to limit the endless war. *

*Urge your Senators and Representative to support legislation to limit the
drone war:*

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/s505<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=asnzqP3wsIvEqihJazUWANypVTrGjHJb>
*

Last week, Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul introduced S. 505, legislation
to prohibit drone killings of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they do not
represent an imminent threat. [1] Cruz and Paul have said they plan to try
to attach the language of the bill as an amendment to the continuing
resolution which would fund federal agencies through Sept. 30. [2]

Introduction of the bill followed Senator Paul's filibuster of John
Brennan's nomination to head the CIA. Paul said the purpose of his
filibuster was to force the Administration to disclose more information
about its claimed legal authority to conduct drone strikes. The
filibuster—and Senator Cruz' questioning of Attorney General Eric Holder in
a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing—drew public attention to the fact that
the Administration is claiming legal authority to target people in other
countries with drone strikes, far away from any battlefield, *even when
they are not an imminent threat*, as the term “imminent” is ordinarily
understood. That's a clear violation of international law. [3]

New York University law professor Ryan Goodman noted in the New York Times
that the Administration's "extraordinary secrecy" makes it difficult to
know who the Administration thinks it can target. [4] Attorney General
Holder has written that the President does not have the authority to "use a
weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American
soil." Goodman asked: what, exactly, does the Obama administration mean by
"engaged in combat"? *The public record suggests that the Administration
believes it can declare "drug traffickers" and "terrorist financiers" to be
"enemy combatants" who can be targeted with drone strikes, even if they are
not engaged in any fighting.* Goodman notes that this "stretches the laws
of war beyond recognition."

Congress has been asleep at the switch on oversight of the drone strike
policy since 2004. At long last, some Members of Congress are showing
interest in holding the Administration to account. Help us use the
Cruz-Rand bill as a tool to pressure other Members of Congress into
speaking up. *Urge your Senators and Representative to support the
Cruz-Rand bill. *

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/s505<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZBDBm4qvRKlngxoC6kefidypVTrGjHJb>
*

Thank you for all you do to help bring about a more just foreign policy,

Robert Naiman, Chelsea Mozen, Sarah Burns and Megan Iorio
Just Foreign Policy

*Help support our work—Donate to Just Foreign Policy!* With our small staff
and minimal overhead, you know your contribution will go a long way.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kQtlw9HSIgDRJnb3UprHZtypVTrGjHJb>

References:

1. "Cruz, Paul Introduce Bill to Prohibit Drone Killings of U.S. Citizens,"
Press Release, Office of Sen. Cruz, March 7, 2013,
http://www.cruz.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=339952<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=UdpVAz%2FVpL86elW0xQxxLtypVTrGjHJb>.
[The bill text is not in Thomas yet, but is available at this link. The
link to the bill in Thomas is here:
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.113s505<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=1LAnM3iVSC%2FGcFmckUyfV9ypVTrGjHJb>
]
2. "Ted Cruz, Rand Paul want drone language in CR," Jonathan Allen,
Politico, 3/8/13,
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/ted-cruz-rand-paul-want-drone-language-in-cr-88634.html<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ay%2BW%2BeTfrXc5mFAZRWhNVdypVTrGjHJb>
3. "What Rand Paul & Ted Cruz Exposed About the Drone Strikes," Robert
Naiman, Huffington Post, 3/07/2013,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/what-rand-paul-ted-cruz-e_b_2828517.html<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Q2Hu6iLvgPgAMhwoNK5QWtypVTrGjHJb>
4. "The Drone Question Obama Hasn't Answered," Ryan Goodman, New York
Times, March 8, 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/opinion/the-drone-question-obama-hasnt-answered.html<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=B04nJEEJ7kbMYjpTbwMmTdypVTrGjHJb>


 © 2013 Just Foreign Policy

Click here to unsubscribe<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gz%2BUoN4a%2FAIcvuZYgKT7xNypVTrGjHJb>
 [image: empowered by Salsa] <http://www.salsalabs.com/?email>
**


-- 
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/20130313/4bdb1ec7/attachment.html>