Does the federal government have the right to kill without arrest or trial American citizens who have become terrorists? A secret government memo released by a federal appeals court on Monday outlines the president’s argument for the legal authority to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and alleged Al-Qaeda terrorist who died in a controversial drone strike in 2011 in Yemen.


http://www.newsweek.com/when-can-federal-government-kill-its-citizens-255998


Monday's news that the Obama administration is considering a military hit on an American terrorist raises anew the issue of what justifies such a step, according to both the law and the public conscience in an era of political, social and technological evolution.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/10/politics/us-killing-americans/



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_al-Awlaki