February 11, 2014 | Quote
Obama Administration Mulls Lethal Strike on American in Pakistan
The Obama administration is considering authorizing the CIA or the military to kill an American citizen hiding in Pakistan who allegedly has helped Al Qaeda militants plan attacks against U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan and is actively plotting future attacks, officials said Monday.
Justice Department lawyers are reviewing the evidence and have not yet determined whether President Obama should consider adding the American, whose identity was not disclosed, to the list of terrorism suspects who are hunted and killed overseas by drones, airstrikes or military raids.
The process has been complicated by the suspect’s U.S. citizenship and new criteria for the targeted killing of Americans, officials said.
…
Little is known about them, said Bill Roggio, who runs the website Long War Journal, which tracks Al Qaeda militants.
Roggio said he believed the administration was “adhering to an unreasonably high legal standard for targeting what is clearly an enemy combatant in a combat zone. If Americans choose to side with Al Qaeda in its war against the U.S., then they should be fair game.”