By Richard Serrano and Andrew R. Grimm, Tribune Washington Bureau –
CHICAGO — The president has legal authority to target and kill American citizens working with Al-Qaida and its allies overseas, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who declared that when they pose a threat to the country and cannot be captured, “we must take steps to stop them.”`
(PHOTO: U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. delivers a national security speech regarding the Obama administration s counterterrorism efforts at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, Monday, March 5, 2012.)
Speaking at Northwestern University law school, Holder gave the most complete explanation to date of the Obama administration’s legal rationale for killing people like U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki, who was targeted in an airstrike in Yemen last year.
Such killings can be ordered “in full accordance with the Constitution” but require “at least” an imminent threat in a situation where capture is not feasible, and when the strike is “conducted in a manner consistent” with the rules of war, Holder said.
“In this hour of danger,” Holder said, “we simply cannot afford to wait until deadly plans are carried out. And we will not.”
