Awlaqi killing reignites US debate on rights

The killing of US-born Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi has rekindled the debate over how far Washington can go in hunting down and assassinating alleged terror suspects who are American citizens.

Awlaqi, killed in Yemen with several other suspected militants, had been at the center of a court case filed last year challenging the US government's right to target its own citizens for assassination which highlighted questions about constitutional rights.

President Barack Obama said the killing of Awlaqi was a "major blow" to Al-Qaeda, and marked a "milestone in the broader effort to defeat" the terror network.

And many US lawmakers and other Americans cheered the news of Awlaqi's death, but civil rights backers said the case raises serious questions.

Glenn Greenwald, a prominent civil liberties lawyer and commentator, said there had been no effort to indict Awlaqi on any crimes and that there was "substantial doubt" about his involvement in any crimes.

"He was simply ordered killed by the president: his judge, jury and executioner," Greenwald wrote on Salon.com.

"What's most amazing is that its citizens will not merely refrain from objecting, but will stand and cheer the US government's new power to assassinate their fellow citizens, far from any battlefield, literally without a shred of due process," he added.

Last year, civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of the cleric's father, Nasser al-Awlaqi, saying it was unconstitutional for the CIA to order the death of an American citizen without due process.

A judge dismissed the case without ruling on the merit of the suit, but said it raises serious constitutional issues.

"Can (the president) order the assassination of a US citizen without first affording him any form of judicial process whatsoever, based on the mere assertion that he is a dangerous member of a terrorist organization?" US District Judge John Bates wrote in December.

Pardiss Kebriaei, an attorney at the the Center Constitutional Rights who worked on the lawsuit, said that if Awlaqi were indeed killed by US forces or with their help, it would be illegal.

"If it was in the absence of imminent threat of deadly harm, this was an illegal killing under the US constitution and international law," she told AFP.

"We have serious questions and concerns about the circumstances of the killing, the standards that were applied, and would call for an immediate investigation" by an independent party, she added.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which also was part of the legal case, also denounced the killing.

"If the constitution means anything, it surely means that the president does not have unreviewable authority to summarily execute any American whom he concludes is an enemy of the state," said ACLU National Security Project Litigation Director Ben Wizner.

In April 2010, Obama's administration had taken the rare step of authorizing the targeted killing of Awlaqi, after US intelligence agencies linked him to attacks.

Ari Fleischer, who was spokesman for former president George W. Bush, said the action shows the need for aggressive actions in the fight on terrorism.

"I wonder if the Bush-violated-the-Constitution crowd will decry the killing of an American w/o a trial via drone??" he said in a Twitter message.

Despite the legal questions, many members of Congress hailed the killing of Awlaqi, who was born in New Mexico and became an Internet phenomenon by producing video and audio recordings in fluent English to lure Westerners into militant actions.

Republican Representative Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, called Awlaqi's killing "a great success in our fight against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates."

"He fueled hate against America, and we are safer because al-Awlaqi is dead. We must nevertheless continue our efforts to combat and discredit the violent Islamist ideology he espoused and disseminated," said Republican Senator Susan Collins.

But Republican Representative Ron Paul, who seeks his party's nomination to take on Obama in the November 2012 election, sharply criticized the decision and declared "nobody knows if he killed anyone."

"He was born here," ABC television quoted Paul as saying. "He is an American citizen. He was never tried or charged with any crime. Nobody knows if he killed anyone."

Last year, a group of US lawmakers unveiled legislation to strip Americans thought to have joined extremist groups like Al-Qaeda of their citizenship. But the effort was criticized by some who said this appeared to lack due process.

Awlaqi, a charismatic preacher who spoke fluent English, was seen as having the unique ability to recruit Al-Qaeda operatives in the West and has been linked to a number of attacks or planned attacks against the United States.

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