Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov
MEMORANDUM
May 4, 2012
Subject:
Legal Issues Related to the Lethal Targeting of U.S. Citizens Suspected of Terrorist
Activities
From:
Jennifer K. Elsea
Legislative Attorney
7-5466
elsea@crs.loc.go
This memorandum was prepared to enable distribution to more than one congressional office.
The killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki and another U.S. citizen by airstrike in Yemen, although never officially
attributed to U.S. military action,
1
has fueled the ongoing debate about the legal propriety of targeted
killings, in particular where a U.S. citizen is targeted or killed.
2
While the Obama Administration has not
released a detailed description of the legal rationale undergirding the targeting policy,
3
some insight into
the Administration’s thinking can be gleaned from speeches given by high-ranking Administration
officials and government filings in a legal case brought by Awlaki’s father in an effort to enjoin military
operations against his son. This memorandum is an effort to clarify the debate by providing legal
background, setting forth what is known about the Administration’s position and identifying possible
points of contention among legal experts and other observers, including the view from abroad.
Just over a decade ago Congress responded to the September 11 terrorist attacks by authorizing the
President to use all necessary and appropriate military force to subdue those responsible as well as those
who harbored the perpetrators.
4
U.S. military operations began in Afghanistan the following month to
drive the Taliban from power and eliminate the Al Qaeda safe haven from the territory under Taliban
control. The use of armed but unmanned aerial vehicles – UAVs – also known as drones, became a new
1
President Obama stated that the operation was a tribute to the U.S. intelligence community. David Jackson, Obama: Terrorists
will find 'no safe haven anywhere', USA
T
ODAY
, Sep. 30, 2011,
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/09/obama-terrorists-will-find-no-safe-haven-anywhere/1.
2
For the purpose of this memorandum, “targeted killing” refers to a state sponsored premeditated use of lethal force directed at
an individual or group of individuals specifically identified in advance of commencement of the operation.
3
The Administration has thus far refused to confirm or deny the existence of a written opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel
(OLC) explaining the legality of targeted killing of U.S. citizens, although some Members of Congress have urged its release. See
Charlie Savage, A Not-Quite Confirmation of a Memo Approving Killing, NY
T
IMES
, March 9, 2012, at A13.
4
Authorization for Use of Military Force (“AUMF”), P.L. 107-40, authorized the President to
use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines
planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or
harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against
the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
