Members of Congress call on Obama to justify drone strikes

story from The Raw Story
June 13, 2012

Members of Congress call on Obama to justify drone strikes
It looks like 26 members of Congress are asking for "legal justification" from Obama on those drone strikes in foreign countries that seem to be targeting terrorists.

It seems since April, drone strikes can be authorized with lesser criteria.
Things like confirmed locations are in question.

Twenty-six members of Congress have called on President Barack Obama to provide a legal justification for so-called “signature” drone strikes against suspected terrorists.

The Washington Post reported in April that the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command have been authorized to strike targets based solely on patterns of suspicious behavior that are detected through various means of intelligence — the actually identity of the target does not need to be known.

“We are concerned that the use of such ‘signature’ strikes could raise the risk of killing innocent civilians or individuals who may have no relationship to attacks on the United States,” the members of Congress, lead by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), wrote Wednesday in a letter to Obama. “Our drone campaigns already have virtually no transparency, accountability or oversight. We are further concerned about the legal grounds for such strikes under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force.”

Though the United States has been using drone strikes for years, the Obama administration did not publicly acknowledged that it was using drones in Yemen and Pakistan until May of this year. The New York Times later revealed the President was intimately involved in who was on the so-called kill or capture list. The Obama administration has also controversially defined “militants” as all military-age males in a given strike zone.

People are concerned about "criteria" for possible drone activity within the U.S. too.

CIA and Joint Special Operations Command have been authorized to strike targets based solely on patterns of suspicious behavior that are detected through various means of intelligence — the actually identity of the target does not need to be known.

What ..? Am I missing something... are these not people killing people here, and all they do is break it down to a pattern of suspicious behavior?

This is crazy talk! Now they're flying over the US!



Nothing to see here, keep on moving...

Reminds me of that Codepink quote in that other thread I did:

“Why should the public believe what the Obama administration says about the people being assassinated by drones? Especially since, as we learn in the New York Times, the administration came up with a semantic solution to keep the civilian death toll to a minimum: simply count all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants. The rationale, reminiscent of George Zimmerman’s justification for shooting Trayvon Martin, is that “people in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good.” Talk about profiling! At least when George Bush threw suspected militants into Guantanamo their lives were spared.” — Medea Benjamin, CodePINK

www.forbes.com...

Do tell how does one justify murder to congress?

They would put a halt to it if this was anything more than a superficial ploy. We are about to see the Reich spring out of the withered dead husk of America.

They would put a halt to it if this was anything more than a superficial ploy. We are about to see the Reich spring out of the withered dead husk of America.

reply to post by xuenchen


Let us also not forget that Obama answers to the UN, and not to Congress.

One of many links

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Senators the administration would seek UN or NATO approval for the deployment of U.S. forces overseas while deciding whether or not it would seek approval from Congress.

The statement shocked Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who asked Panetta if he could "initiate a no-fly zone in Syria" without Congressional approval.

"Again, our goal would be to seek international permission and we would ...come to the Congress and inform you and determine how best to approach this, whether or not we would want to get permission from the Congress - I think those are issues we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here," Panetta said.

Presumably, if he has anything to say to Congress on any matter he'll let them know....

"Drone strikes create peace." Obama shall say. "Let's not forget I won the Nobel Peace Prize, therefore, I hereby call all past and future drone strikes justified. You are all welcome!"

Originally posted by six67seven
"Drone strikes create peace." Obama shall say. "Let's not forget I won the Nobel Peace Prize, therefore, I hereby call all past and future drone strikes justified. You are all welcome!"

Good one...

reply to post by xuenchen


The wording of this is disgusting..."justify" the strikes? You get what you ask for.

How about, "condemn the drone strikes"?

The hidden language that controls public opinion is real. I see it everywhere.

Victim of 'democracy'..

mdanishtaha.files.wordpress.com...

How the hell are you going to justify that? Truly sickening.

reply to post by xuenchen


The State Secret they dont want to talk about - Guilty until proven innocent.
Hows that going to happen if your dead?

Chillingly, it was recently reported that according to the US definitions, ‘all military-age males in a strike zone’ are regarded as militants, and will only be counted as civilians where ‘explicit evidence proves them innocent’ – a lethal inversion of the fundamental legal principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.

For many years, these attacks were carried out with the complicity of the Pakistani authorities, who protested the strikes in public while secretly condoning them. In a startlingly frank interview, former president Pervez Musharraf tells Jemima Khan the strikes are ‘a breach of sovereignty’ but says the Pakistani government is ‘double-crossing the people of Pakistan’ with its contradictory public and private attitudes
www.thebureauinvestigates.com...

And take note that Pakistan in public condemns the strikes, while secretly approving them.
Not to big of a stretch to think that Al CIA da is alive and well.


Disgusting!

The drone program needs to be shut down and the members of any alphabet organization involved, along with any political proponents of this program need to be tried for murder.

What's all the fuss about drone this, and drone that. They are just planes being operated by pilots remotely. Why are you all complaining about all the fighter jets flying around the world dropping bombs? There is no difference except safety to the operator. Military planes fly armed over the USA all the time and nobody complained, but a drone story pops up, and everyone is in an uproar.

Get real people.