REVEALED: HOLDER SAYS PRESIDENT COULD AUTHORIZE MILITARY DRONE STRIKES INSIDE U.S.

/www.theBlaze.com ^ | Mar. 5, 2013 | Billy Hallowell

[Yosemitest]

REVEALED: HOLDER SAYS PRESIDENT COULD AUTHORIZE MILITARY DRONE STRIKES INSIDE U.S.
Mar. 5, 2013, by Billy Hallowell

This morning, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Glenn Beck’s radio team that he had some new information about the U.S. government’s drone program — information that some individuals might find troubling.
Later in the day, TheBlaze obtained letters that were sent to the senator by Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama’s chief counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan.

It is select contents in Holder’s letter that citizens and political experts, alike, might find most problematic.
After Paul sent an inquiry to learn more about the government’s drone program and to ask whether
“the President has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial,”
he received a response that is sure to be scrutinized.

The senator’s inquiry was certainly specific, however the government’s response was not so concise — or at least not pointed enough to put critics like Paul at ease.

In a response dated March 4, 2013, Holder wrote that the U.S. government
“has not carried out drone strikes in the United States and has no intention of doing so.”
The attorney general went on to note that federal officials believe that in areas where there is “well-established law enforcement,” these officials serve as the preferred mode of handling terrorist threats; military options inside U.S. borders are, thus, “rejected.”

“We have a long history of using the criminal justice system to incapacitate individuals located in our country who pose a threat to the United States and its interests abroad,” the letter reads.
“Hundreds of individuals have been arrested and convicted of terrorism-related offenses in our federal courts.”

While this would likely set at ease anyone worried about the potential use of drones on U.S. land, Holder doesn’t conclude there.
It is the next section of the letter that is the most contentious, as it leaves the door open for potential action in the event of large-scale terror attacks or other monumental disturbances.

“The question you have posed is therefore entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no President will ever have to confront,” the letter continues.
“It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States.”

Holder said that the president could be faced with such a situation (“to authorize the military to use such force”) if the need to protect the nation arose during an attack similar to Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

“Were such an emergency to arise, I would examine the particular facts and circumstances before advising the President on the scope of his authority,” he concludes.

View the document, below:



In a separate letter dated March 5, 2013, Brennan responded to Paul’s request for the same information, taking a more conclusive stance — one that affirmed that the CIA would not have the power to conduct attacks on American soil.

In his note, Brennan wrote that the Justice Department would respond to legal questions surrounding the president’s authority, but he made it clear that the agency he has been nominated to lead does not have the authority to conduct these drone attacks (the Senate Intelligence Committee voted this afternoon to approve Brennan’s nomination).

“I can, however, state unequivocally that the agency I have been nominated to lead, the CIA, does not conduct lethal operations inside the United States — not does it have any authority to do so,” he wrote.
“Thus, if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as CIA Director, I would have no ‘power’ to authorize such operations.”

Read Brennan’s letter to Paul in its entirety, below:



In the past, Brennan has been a staunch defender of drone strikes, as highlighted earlier today by TheBlaze. While he noted that they are used only as a “last resort,” he also said during his confirmation hearing that he had no qualms with the administration’s decision to use the tactic against U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan.
Both of these men, killed in Yemen in Sept. 2011, were U.S. citizens.

Paul appeared this afternoon on Sean Hannity’s radio show, where the congressman discussed the letters.
The two spoke candidly about Holder’s and Brennan’s responses to his questions.
He characterized the attorney general’s answer as a “maybe” when asked about whether drone strikes would be acceptable on U.S. land.

“In that letter, he refuses to rule out using drone stikes on Americans, on American soil,” Paul told Hannity.
“The reason this is troubling is that we’re not talking about someone holding a weapon, we’re not taking about someone with a grenade launcher.
Many of these drone strikes are against people who are walking and talking, sitting and eating or sleeping in their house.”

Rather than attacking citizens who are suspected of terrorism or terror ties, Paul said that Americans ”need to be charged with something and get our day in court.”

This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

[Yosemitest]

So the ILLEGAL ALIEN IN CHIEF want to KILL U.S. CITIZENS ON U.S. SOIL WITHOUT TRIALS OR WARRANTS.
Didn't I read OBAMA WANTS 25 MILLION DEAD ?

[Yosemitest]

Here's more information.

[Yosemitest]

Here's more information.

[blackdog]

So who is it again in our system of government who has budgetary control over agencies like DHS, FBI, CIA, etc...?

Or did our legislators commit another Peloscism and pass some bills in order to find out what was inside again?

Do not blame this one on Obama. It's the job of the legislature to approve spending, be it for drones, TSA uniforms, or underage Dominican Hookers.

[Hotlanta Mike]

Obama wanted enemy combatants captured on foreign soil read their Miranda Rights, and now they claim he has the legal authority to assassinate Americans on US soil without a trial?

Tyranny unleashed...

[Yosemitest]

Thus is WHY the GOP is dead !

[blackdog]

Remember that gun advocate that was found blowed up real good in his truck in some rural bumkuf back in december?

Nobody could figger out what happened? Nobody from gubmint wanted to either.

[factoryrat]

Drones operating over US territory will become the equivalent of red-light cameras already in operation. The only difference is that you can’t strap a hellfire missle to a red-light camera, and blow away a traffic law violator, much to the chagrin of the feds. The feds aren’t winning any support from the people by implementing these insane policies, and all they are doing is stoking a fire they won’t be able to put out once it gets out of control.

[Yosemitest]

"and now they claim he has the legal authority to assassinate Americans on US soil without a trial? Tyranny unleashed..."

You got it!

Remember:
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way,
for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs
and the man of LAWLESSNESS is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped,
so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
For the secret power of LAWLESSNESS is already at work;
but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
And then the LAWLESS ONE will be revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth
and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
The coming of the LAWLESS ONE will be in accordance with the work of Satan
displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
For this reason God sends them a POWERFUL DELUSION
so that THEY WILL BELIEVE THE LIE
and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth
but have delighted in wickedness.

[blackdog]

Amend the authorization bill purchasing the drones to require one drone per legislator being airborne at all times over said legislator with all of their cellphone calls monitored and recorded to ensure their safety.

And oh yeah, link the hellfire system to a trigger fired when the legislators have an approval rate below 40%.

I like a good incentive program for my employees.

[blackdog]

When will those who voted for this marxist death squad cheerleader of a president have the "Our bad" moment and get honest with their values?

This president is exactly what they all sang Kumbayah over in the 60's and 70's, Neil Young ballads whined about, and declared "Absolutely Nothin" valuable in the instruments of war.

[ExCTCitizen]

PRESIDENT COULD AUTHORIZE MILITARY DRONE STRIKES INSIDE U.S.,

I think he'll be running for a third term in 2016

[Gasshog]

yea though I walk in the valley of the shadow of drones, I will fear no evil...

[sport]

Who will oppose him if he does order them? I have believed all along that he will be elected again in 2016, if he decides to hold an election.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

The head of the Department of Just Us and Our People warns.. Were such an emergency to arise Our People would act to incapacitate the threat; e.g., a threat against the New Black Panther Party of Philadelphia.

[ExCTCitizen]

he will be elected again in 2016, if he decides to hold an election.

The Elections will be held in the big cities only in 2016. (This guy makes Hugo Chavez look like a LIBERTARIAN!!)

[Gator113]

All of this is so very comforting. This kind of discussion/debate taking place by our government officials, especially during these troubled and critical times, is seen by me as a threat.

Because of what is happening to our country under Obama and the filthy democrats, I sometimes have to wonder how things might have been different....had the Japs won.

[Yosemitest]

I don’t believe he’ll live that long.

[ExCTCitizen]

he will be elected again in 2016, if he decides to hold an election.

The Elections will be held in the big cities only in 2016. (This guy makes Hugo Chavez look like a LIBERTARIAN!!)

[ExCTCitizen]

I don’t believe he’ll live that long

Oh no...President Biden!! Please No...