NBC reporter on leaked memo: Obama admin. using ‘elastic’ definitions to justify drones

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/04/nbc-reporter-on-leaked-memo-obama-admin-using-elastic-definitions-to-justify-drones/



NBC reporter on leaked memo: Obama admin. using ‘elastic’ definitions to justify drones
By Eric W. Dolan
Monday, February 4, 2013 23:04 EST

NBC News correspondent Michael Isikoff said Monday the Obama administration was using murky legal definitions to justify its use of drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists.

“Remember, we are talking about targeted killings of Americans, we are talking about making decisions based on secret intelligence, and we see in this memo that some of the definitions are a bit more elastic and open to interpretation than the administration has publicly let on,” he said on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.

~snip~

The memo states that drone strikes are justified when the target poses an “imminent threat” to the United States and is “infeasible” to capture. The strike must also be conducted according to “law of war principles.” The memo reflects public statements made by Attorney General Eric Holder.

“They refer to a broader concept of imminence than direct active intelligence of a plot against the U.S.,” Isikoff explained. “In fact, it explicitly states that imminence does not mean that the United States has to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons or interests is underway. If the U.S. believes that the target has in the past been involved in such violent activities and the target has not renounced such activities it can be assumed that they are an imminent threat now and that that would justify an attack.”

[xchrom]

1. du rec. nt

[RC]

2. If we, the US, were to pull out of most of the countries we are currently in,

the "imminent threat" to the United States, would drop to almost non-existent levels, as soon as we cross the border on the way out.

How many other countries have military bases on territories we own? US Mainland? Hawaii, or any other islands int he Pacific? Alaska? Puerto Rico? None. Not even our 'allies'.

[bvar22]

3. The "Bush Doctrine" on steroids.

This is not a good thing.