February 15, 2013 / by emptywheel

 

Dianne Feinstein Commits the Drone and/or Targeted Killing Fallacy

I’m not sure whether Dianne Feinstein is this dumb, or this exchange — from follow-up questions to John Brennan’s confirmation hearings — is just an effort to trick people like Rand Paul into believing that the Administration doesn’t believe it can kill imminent threats in the US.

Could the Administration carry out drone strikes inside the United States?

The Administration has not carried out drone strikes inside the United States and has no intention of doing so.

Obama offered a similar answer in a Google hangout last night, so this must be a developing authorized line.

There has never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil.

The white paper that has everyone so worried about drone strikes in the United States is titled — and is about — “Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen Who Is a Senior Operational Leader of Al-Qa’ida or An Associated Force.”

Lethal is lethal, whether it comes from a drone or a gun or a poison pill.

And thus far, the Administration has fallen far short of denying that it has used lethal force — targeted killing — inside the US.

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Originally Posted @ https://www.emptywheel.net/2013/02/15/dianne-feinstein-commits-the-drone-andor-targeted-killing-error/