It's hard not to feel sick reading this Justice Department report detailing when the US government thinks it's okay to kill US citizens.

The report, obtained by NBC News, outlines the Obama administration's increased use of deadly drone strikes, including those aimed at American citizens.

It's not just theory on paper. Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan were U.S. citizens who had never been charged with any crimes. They were both killed in Yemen when someone decided they were a threat. 

The government says that sure, they're targeting individual people for assassination without trial, but they're really careful about it. Does that make anyone feel better about this?

When we're talking about killing American citizens, especially when a 16-year-old American boy was killed in one instance, is "really careful" good enough?

► Take Action: Tell the CIA and Pentagon to end illegal targeted killings

Over at the ACLU Blog of Rights, Jameel Jaffer writes: 

"The paper's basic contention is that the government has the authority to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen if 'an informed, high-level official' deems him to present a 'continuing' threat to the country."

This sweeping authority is said to exist even if the threat presented isn't imminent in any ordinary sense of that word, even if the target has never been charged with a crime or informed of the allegations against him, and even if the target is not located anywhere near an actual battlefield." > read more

So basically, the government is claiming the right to kill us without a charge, without a trial, without a threat, without notice and in our own homes. Do you feel safer?

The whole memo is here. An utter disappointment from a president who promised to take the country away from war, not merely sweep murder under the carpet.

Key News and Documents

► Take Action | Tell the CIA and Pentagon to end illegal targeted killings

► ACLU Blog | Justice Department’s White Paper on Targeted Killing


► ACLU Issues | Obama's Targeted Killings.

► At The ACLU | Due Process

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