Document Says U S Legalizes DEADLY Attacks Against Americans

U.S. legalizes deadly attacks against its citizens

United States has the right to direct lethal operations abroad against one of its nationals, in the case of an operating head of the terrorist network Al Qaeda, according to a confidential document from the Department of Justice released Tuesday.

The document, which can be accessed from a link on the website of NBC News , comes to light amid a growing debate over the drone attacks on suspected members of Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Yemen.

In the text ("White Paper") is justified by first removing American citizens, particularly drone attacks, challenged by courts and human rights organizations.

The paper argues that the United States does not violate the Constitution or federal law to kill a U.S. citizen when the latter is an imminent threat of violent attacks for the country and its capture is not possible.

"The condition that an operational leader a threat 'imminent' violent attack against the United States exempts United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on individuals or interests will take place in the immediate future," he says.

Instead, an officer "informed, high-level" could decide that the individual is "an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States" if it was "recently" involved in this type of activity and there is no evidence that he renounced or abandoned them.

The text also says that to act, capturing the individual must be "unworkable", ie when it involves an "unreasonable risk" to U.S. personnel.

The 16-page document, entitled "Legality of direct lethal operation against an American citizen is an important operational leader of Al Qaeda or an associated force", was delivered by the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of the Senate in June to NBC provided they were held in reserve and not publicly disclosed, the news network said.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU, by name) and the Center for Constitutional Rights Defense attacked the Obama administration after the death of radical Imam Anwar Al-Aulaqi, U.S. citizen, and two other countrymen, killed in an attack by a drone in Yemen in 2011.

The report comes two days after the chief White House counterterrorism, John Brennan, appearing in the Senate on his nomination as CIA director.

Brennan has played a key role in the campaign of U.S. drones, which spread widely under the Obama administration despite misgivings about its legality and public rejection in Pakistan for the killing of civilians.

Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal ACLU has filed a lawsuit to the government for the legal document used to authorize the killing of Awlaqi, called the text "creepy".

"According to the official, the government has the authority to carry out targeted assassinations of U.S. citizens without presenting evidence to a judge before or after the fact, and without even having to admit to the courts or the public authority has acted "denounced Jaffer.

Government officials have strongly defended the drone program as key to the U.S. strategy against al-Qaida, in a war against terrorism without geographical boundaries.