How to hold the president accountable for his lethal decisions
But I don’t want to trivialize the President’s constitutional duty to protect the country either. I don’t think Congress has the wherewithal to determine, ahead of time, who belongs on a target list and who doesn’t. I don’t think the judicial branch would want that responsibility, especially given the time constraints that accompany the targeting process.
What I would like to see, and what I think IS feasible, is a system of post-facto accountability. It would require more transparency by the executive branch but would not interfere with their decision-making. The lawyer or “informed person” who signed off on the killing would be required to submit a dossier to a judge, perhaps on a special panel, who would review the decision chain and determine whether the government met its own criteria both literally and substantively. The court would release to Congress and the public redacted versions of its decisions. If it found that the President was using these powers indiscriminately, we, the people, would know. We would know well after the fact, which is a necessary evil, but we would be able to do something about it.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
bho does not give a flying flit what anyone wants him to do! bho doesn’t work with dc or the courts, but he will do eo’s to go around them.
NO ONE in dc, so far, had done squat to hold bho accountable for anything and I am not holding my breath it is going to happen?
L
letget on February 7, 2013 at 11:28 AM
“This will go down on your permanent record!”
Mr. D on February 7, 2013 at 11:30 AM
Lawyers and Judges are to be relied upon to produce accountability?
What could go wrong?
HondaV65 on February 7, 2013 at 11:38 AM
He is not “defending” this country anymore than the government was “defending” this country by going to war in Iraq. They are just bullies and tyrants – sticking their nose in places we shouldn’t be – not because the other tyrants on those other countries are just but because it is not worth our treasure or the lives of American warriors.
MoreLiberty on February 7, 2013 at 11:41 AM
Accountability? The “science is settled” so to speak – obama is a sworn enemy of the United States – he functions above the law – his singular goal is to destroy our country – and no one seems particularly interested in stopping him.
Pork-Chop on February 7, 2013 at 11:53 AM
Unless the American in question is killed while actually attacking US forces or civilians with weapon in hand (or foot or underwear, as the case may be), there is time to submit the question to an appropriate judicial authority in order to determine that he is, in fact, waging war against the US.
If you have the intel to target him, you have the intel to convince the judge.
AesopFan on February 7, 2013 at 12:06 PM
It’s true that the courts have no role here. But congress does. There should be a group of congressmen, from both houses and both parties, all with top secret security clearance, who must sign-off on any American citizen who is knowingly put on the list. Obviously this would not apply to “hot” engagement where the target is actively engaged in hostile acts.
But congress is a bunch of cowards. They don’t want their fingerprints on this or any other “tough” decisions.
So Pres. Zero will continue to get away with the cold-blooded killing of US citizens with barely a peep from the libs. We can trust him, right? That is a truly sad situation.
fastphil101 on February 7, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Soros is inexplicitly tardy planning his unhinged Leftist rent-a-mob rally against Obama’s April 2009 summary execution of three (un-Mirandized!) Somali teens at sea.
Afterall, those targeted killings were clearly more “deadly” than Bush’s patriotic moistening of KSM, et.al.
The 4-year(!) anniversary of Obama’s high seas shooting spree is this April. Get busy, progressives.
Rage against the Obamachine!
Terp Mole on February 7, 2013 at 12:08 PM
How about we just change the order?
Like — we capture the citizen, first, and put him on trial before a judge and jury. And if he’s guilty and deserves a death sentence, then we kill him.
You know. Something like what the Constitution says we MUST do.
The Rogue Tomato on February 7, 2013 at 12:34 PM
The Rogue Tomato on February 7, 2013 at 12:34 PM
Exactly how do you propose that we capture a guy in Yemen? We had 100,000 troops in Iraq and it too HOW long to find Saddam? How many US soldiers must die trying to capture someone? al-Awlaki knew he was on the list, as his father unsuccessfully sued the government over it. He could have turned himself in and asked for a trial.
If you go overseas and start associating with bad people, you are accepting the risk that you might get to see firsthand what a hellfire missile can do to a person.
Now we should still have congressional oversight of the executive branch on the overseas killing of citizens, but the idea that we can just flip a switch and capture guys like this is naive. This ain’t the movies.
fastphil101 on February 7, 2013 at 1:19 PM
Lethal decisions–you mean like Benghazi?
Christien on February 7, 2013 at 1:45 PM