A federal court has released the memo that explains the justification for killing a U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, by drone strike. The New Mexico-born terrorist, according to the redacted version of a 2010 Justice Department memo, posed a serious threat to U.S. security. The memo offers insight into the thought behind targeted killings, and in doing so provides fresh material for a long-running controversy regarding the legality of the U.S. counterterrorism program.
Citing the court case Mathews v. Eldridge, the memo argues that the government should consider whether “the private interest that will be affected by the official action" would outweigh "burdens the Government would face in providing greater process.” Al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen on September 30, 2011. Because he was a reported member of al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula and believed to be tied to plots against America, or an "operational leader" of an "enemy source," the Obama administration argues, his killing was justified. "There is no precedent directly addressing the question in circumstances such as those present here," David Barron, a recently confirmed judge for the First Circuit Court of Appeals, writes in the memo. At the time, Barron was acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.