Barack Obama, 'Kill Americans Memo': Leaked White House Memo Authorizes Drone Attacks on US Citizens with Al Qaeda Ties

Barack Obama's administration had a confidential memo, referred to as the "Kill Americans Memo", leaked Tuesday, which details the government's legal justification for killing US citizens with links to Al Qaeda. This memo is a rare look at an incredibly secretive policy under the President's administration. This memo addresses the use of the controversial drone campaign for attacking U.S. citizens even without intelligence that their Al Qeda ties are active. The document reads:

"The president has authority to respond to the imminent threat posed by Al Qaeda and its associated forces, arising from his constitutional responsibility to protect the country."

On top of the excerpt above, the right to national self-defense and congressional authorization for military force is allowed.

The 16-page document, released publicly by NBC News, also details three conditions in which the United States government has just cause for the use of lethal force on U.S. soil against senior operational leaders of Al Qaeda (or other terrorist groups):

1. When "an informed, high-level official of the US government has determined that the targeted individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the US"

2. When capturing the individual is not feasible

3. When such action is consistent with the principles of war

The memo states that in such instances, these would be lawful under US and international law.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators called on the Obama administration to release "any and all" legal opinions detailing what would be considered reason to move on U.S. citizens in these cases.The administration's cooperation would "help avoid an unnecessary confrontation that could affect the Senate's consideration of nominees for national security purposes." John Brennan was recently nominated by Obama to lead the CIA and is a defender of the use of drone strikes. The Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing this Thursday where Brennan is likely to face questioning on drones.

The issue on drone usage for military strikes has been a hot topic for over a year. Many members of congress have called for detailed information involving these tactics and have yet to be satisfied. With the news of this "Kill Americans Memo," the issue has become much more heated. Attorney General Eric Holder said today that the release of more documents could possibly put sources and operations at risk, stating:

"We'll have to look at this and see how, what it is we want to do with these memos. But you have to understand that we are talking about things that are, that go into really kind of how we conduct our offensive operations against a clear and present danger to this nation," Holder said at a press conference.