Anwar al-Awlaki

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Anwar al-Awlaki

Holder: Executive Branch Reviews Of Targeted Killings Count As 'Due Process'

Ryan J. Reilly | March 5, 2012, 4:40PM

The Obama administration believes that executive branch reviews of evidence against suspected al-Qaeda leaders before they are targeted for killing meet the constitution's "due process" requirement and that American citizenship alone doesn't protect individuals from being killed, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech Monday.

"Due process and judicial process are not one and the same, particularly when it comes to national security," Holder said. "The Constitution guarantees due process, not judicial process."

Broadly outlining the guidelines the Obama administration has used to conduct lethal drone stikes overseas, Holder said the U.S. government could legally target a senior operational al Qaeda leader who is actively engaged in planning to kill Americans if the individual (1) posed an imminent threat of violence; (2) could not feasibly be captured; and (3) if the operation was conducted in line with war principles.

Such a use of lethal force against that type of individual, Holder said, wouldn't violate the executive order banning assassinations or criminal statues because such an act would be in "self defense." In remarks delivered at Northwestern University Law School in Chicago, Holder also said that targeted killings are not "assassinations," adding that the "use of that loaded term is misplaced" because assassinations are "unlawful killings" while targeted strikes are conducted lawfully.

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Topics: Anwar al-Awlaki, Drones, Eric Holder

What Impact Will Anwar Al-Awlaki's Death Have In The West?

Jillian Rayfield | September 30, 2011, 12:30PM

The death of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric linked to al Qaeda's operations in Yemen, is likely to impact American Arabs and Muslims in positive fashion, according to Dr. Hussein Ibish, former communications director for the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Commitee.

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Topics: Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Anwar al-Awlaki, Islam, Islamophobia

Fort Hood Shootings

Who Is Nidal Malik Hasan? The Picture Becomes (Slightly) Clearer

Justin Elliott | November 9, 2009, 6:01PM

Major Nidal Malik Hasan

The tentative picture emerging of Nidal Malik Hasan is of a man who likely subscribed to radical Islamic beliefs, but who was not acting on behalf of any group in allegedly carrying out the shootings in which 13 died at Fort Hood last week.

The leaks are coming fast and furious in the investigation of the shootings, so we thought we'd put together a digest of the recent coverage.

Bear in mind that what's missing from many of these reports are named sources, and that many of the initial stories about the case were totally wrong.

Here we go: