A cameraman for Reuters news agency was killed by a U.S. drone when the operator of the ship confused the long lenses Reporter with a grenade launcher.
IPS with information
Barack Obama administration tries to justify its "targeted killings" against U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism while growing debate about the legality of these operations.
There is no way to repair the damage. A cameraman for Reuters news agency was killed by a U.S. drone when the operator of the ship confused the long lenses of the reporter with a grenade launcher.
Despite these risks and the danger posed to attack innocent civilians, government counterterrorism officials continue to defend Obama's right to identify Washington as targets American citizens considered a threat to capture or kill them without trial.
The head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter, cited the example of the dangers allegedly posed by cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, connected with the radical Islamist al Qaeda network.
Al-Awlaki, 39, was born in Las Cruces in southern New Mexico. It is an international speaker with dual citizenship, American and Yemeni.
The former imam and spiritual leader would have inspired us with their views dangerous Islamic terrorists. It is said that his sermons came three suicide bombers who perpetrated the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington.
Leiter did not say clearly whether Al-Awlaki was in the list of targets, but other senior officials in Washington have confirmed that the cleric is effectively targeted.
Much of the debate on these extrajudicial killings has focused on the fact that they violate the Constitution United States, but experts insist that should be emphasized that violate international laws of war.
"These political assassinations or targeted, also called extra-judicial executions are carried out by a government order, and sometimes even without knowledge of it, outside any legal framework," said Marjorie Cohn, former president of the National Lawyers Guild.
The expert cited a 1998 report by the Organization of the United Nations stating that "extrajudicial could never be justified under any circumstances, even in times of war."
"The premeditated murder is a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions, "the report said.
Cohn argued that the situation is even worse considering that the U.S. is not formally at war.
Meanwhile, Daphne Eviatar, the organization Human Rights First, told IPS: "The problem with the unmanned aircraft program is that government has not provided the public with enough information to determine if you meet the legal requirements, "he said.
"The fact that someone is under suspicion of having links with Al Qaeda or supporting Al Qaeda member does not a foreign force fighting against the United States, or someone directly involved in hostilities against "American interests, he added.
"While the U.S. does not provide information not only about who is taking it as objectives, but on what evidence is there for that person to be taken as such we can not know whether what we are doing is legal," he added.
Meanwhile, constitutional lawyer Scott Horton, contributor to Harper's Weekly magazine, told IPS that there were two ways "in which the government could justify the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen."
"One is when a person is in the very act of committing a crime that threatens the lives of others, or you can seriously hurt, and no other way to stop it. The other is in the context of a war, "he said.
"The Obama administration seems to think that the second case is applicable to Al-Awlaki, but if you have evidence to prove it, certainly it has not been presented to the public," he said.
And even if it had such evidence, he added, "has not explained why not just arrest him and bring him to answer for charges based on crimes that they believe has committed, apparently including terrorist activities and perhaps treason ".
"Obviously need explain why that would not work and why they should throw bombs at risk of killing dozens of innocent civilians in order to assassinate Al-Awlaki, "said Horton.
Colonel Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor for terrorism cases from the Department of Defense, came to public attention when he said that the military justice system had become corrupted by politics and inappropriate influence from senior Pentagon officials.
"The Fifth Amendment states that U.S. citizens can not be 'deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law'" he told IPS.
"If the Constitution prohibits the government get you home without a prior hearing and without giving you the opportunity to defend, it seems a bit ironic that can get you life with even less formality and less pre-processing, "he added.
Professor Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois, has severely criticized the government's program of Obama drone.
"What is proposed here with Al-Awlaki and other U.S. citizens on the list now openly admitted the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is an assassination, an extrajudicial execution or a grave violation of their right to life, human rights and the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution United States, "he told IPS.
source: cubadebate.cu
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