Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against U.S. drone program

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/04/federal-judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-u-s-drone-program/



Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against U.S. drone program
By Reuters
Friday, April 4, 2014 22:43 EDT
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed against the U.S. government by the families of three American citizens killed by U.S. drones in Yemen, saying senior officials cannot be held personally responsible for money damages for the act of conducting war.

The families of the three – including Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born militant Muslim cleric who had joined al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate, and his teenage son – sued over their 2011 deaths in U.S. drone strikes, arguing that the killings were illegal.

Judge Rosemary Collyer of the U.S. District Court in Washington threw out the case, which had named as defendants former defense secretary and CIA chief Leon Panetta, former senior military commander and CIA chief David Petraeus and two other top military commanders.

“The question presented is whether federal officials can be held personally liable for their roles in drone strikes abroad that target and kill U.S. citizens,” Collyer said in her opinion. “The question raises fundamental issues regarding constitutional principles, and it is not easy to answer.”


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If "senior officials cannot be held personally responsible for money damages for the act of conducting war", then who is responsible for our drone 'strikes'?