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DRONES

Should Obama's Secretive Drone War Be Replaced by 'Drone Court'?

Bipartisan senators want the president's powers reined in

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: AP

We learned this week that Obama's drone policy gives him free rein to order strikes overseas, revelations that caused angst among the political class.

Now a group from both sides of the Senate Intelligence Committee - including Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) - are considering the idea of a "drones court" - which is backed enthusiastically by Sen. Angus King (I-ME).

Any "drones court" judge would be too slow to respond in real time to a frantic call from the CIA asking for permission to take down a suspected terrorist. What the court could do, instead, is rule on whether a suspect should be placed on the "kill list" in the first place.

The "drones court" idea has also, perhaps surprisingly, been discussed internally by the Obama administration, according to the NYTimes.

Critics of the drones program say a drones court wouldn't go far enough. The program is an "abuse of power" by an "imperial president" that needs to be checked by Congress, legal scholar Jonathan Turley told Fox News.

Via Fox News and the New York Times. H/T Politix user PoliticalSpice.
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Should Obama's unilateral drone decisions be replaced by a 'Drone Court'?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • PoliticalSpice
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    @LGRepublican So you're saying we should behave like terrorist. I guess it is consistent with nalpalm in vietnam, daddy bush in pana and W in iraq.

    Still I kinda think the u.s. should stop raining death and destruction on innocent people. I guess old habits ate hard to break...
  • jessejaymes
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    @PoliticalSpice I don't know what LG is saying but I'm saying exactly that. WE need to stop pretending that there is a possibility of a "civil" war with Islam. We're going to get our ass kicked forever and ever more if we take the same "gentleman's war" tack that liberal always advocate. If it's a war worth fighting at all (and the war with Islam is not going away EVER) then it's a war worth winning. At any cost. The known world will be totally under Shariah law in 100 years if they're not stopped at every opportunity and by ever means possible.
  • LGRepublican
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    @PoliticalSpice What I'm saying is that we should have our entire arsenal available to the commander in chief. If the fear of a drone attack prevents one terrorist from bombing an embassy, then attack away. This isn't a case of two political philosophies who are enemies but have common grounds, this is about a group of people who see us as infidels who need to be converted or killed.
  • DogLady_1
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    @LGRepublican - If were weren't on their property, they wouldn't be shooting at us. Now if a terrorist comes over here and tries something, we should do everything necessary to obliterate them...

    "When you get into trouble 5,000 miles from home, you’ve got to have been looking for it." -Will Rogers

  • View all 37 replies >

  • Fishbone345
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    The point is, people don't realize what doors this is opening up. The problem isn't with using drones in a war zone, its with using them here on US soil against US citizens. Anyone who thinks the Government is responsible and "Would never do that to us" should listen to how stupid that sounds and look at how stupid their belief system is.
  • u
    cnw95
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    @Fishbone345 Our gov has been killing U.S. citizens w/o a trial or miranda warnings for years prior to these suspect drone killings.
    It's called "officer involved shooting".
    Look at the alabama kidnapper a few days ago. Shot/killed right in the his bunker. Where was his "day in court"???
    Here in milwaukee a guy died in the back of a squad car while in police custody.
    While he wasn't shot,cops ignored his pleas for help and left him to suffocate till he passed out and died. Where was his "day in court"???
    Cops kill U.S. citizens all the time and these citizens NEVER get their "day in court".
    So i do agree with your assessment,i just think that this type of behavior is already here and has been here for a long time.
    I'm just waiting for the media to make this connection.
  • Thegrif
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    @cnw95 first the Alabama case. The perp was involved and in the process of committing a armed felony (kidnapping) with a hostage (a child). Only 2 ways out of that situation for him, give up and surrender or die.
    Deadly force is permitted to stop a felony, when protecting another from death or great bodily harm, or to protect self from death or great bodily harm.
    I would say, in this case, to not follow the repeated commands of LEO's, with a hostage, you have to give the green light to take the shot.
    As for the case in Milwaukee, if those are all the facts. Then I imagine it will go to court.
  • u
    ctc
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    Every time we pull the trigger on a drone strike we are conducting unilateral war.
    It's only a matter of time before our adversaries have this technology, are able to retaliate, or in some cases shape their foreign policy with their use.
    Just as with nuclear weapons we should be concerned with how the genie gets out of the bottle.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    In fact I think there was a story of a survellience drone from either Iraq or Hammas a few weeks ago. It was shot down and not as sophistacateed as what the u.s. had but compated to other weapons drone bombs may be expensive, but are probably not that hard to devolop and deploy...
  • Quantummist
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    At some point the Prez could start picking Political Enemies and call them Terrorist and drone their Home in Smalltown USA and we would have no way of seeing any evidence.... " When you give Your Individual Power to a Government You Adore do not be surprised when that Power is used against you by the next Government you Abhor " - Q
  • u
    Synthesis
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    I think an exploding house would be suspicious and drones aren't exactly quite either, some of them make a lot of noise while flying. And the quote is irrelevant because citizens can't use drones on the first place!
  • Quantummist
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    @Synthesis .. Then you have no idea of which you speak... A Predator flying at 20,000 feet is silent and almost invisible by a ground observer.... A Sentinel even less so... A Predator can ID a Face from 15,000 feet and hit a moving Car ... And it does not matter if it was shown to be a Drown Strike after the fact because under the existing policy all the President has to do is Say the target is Al Queita High level person and they do not have to provide any evidence that they actually are... http://news.firedoglake.com/2013/02/05/white-...

    And when asked in a hearing the CIA director said that they had not discussed if that finding meant they could target and Kill without any produced evidence Americans Inside the USA.... So it's a Open question... But as it stands the President and CIA can say Any American Citizen is a Terrorist without producing any evidence to the Court System then Target and Kill them inside the USA...
  • Quantummist
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    @PoliticalSpice ... Kewl... " When you give Power to the Government you adore do not be surprised when it is used by the Government you Abhor" - Q... If you say they have that right now then when a different Gov is in power your have given them your blessing in targeting You and Your Family along with other socialist around the country...
  • u
    Synthesis
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    @Quantummist good research! But I never said this was ok. I'm in favor of the "court" idea. And the reason I said they were heard was because of primary sources In the middle east that said they head the drone of the drones. And yes, the president could do horrible things if he wished but it's nothing new thanks to the patriot act. Again, not disagreeing with the main point.

  • View all 12 replies >

  • frigginhell
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    If we had the last congress put it to a vote on sending in troops to go kill bin laden how do you think that would have ended? I'm guessing someone would earmark it so they could add repealing ObamaCare. Someone else would filibuster it because they don't think it's really him. Then they'd kick the can down the aisle for another 2 years or until a republican can somehow make it look like they were the ones who did it. At which point the democrats would have blocked it.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    I thought you were a republican. Isn't your party platform kill, kill, kill? What is all this liberal nonsense about geneva convention and basic human rights?

  • View all 12 replies >

  • jessejaymes
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    I disagree with every single comment on here. The world is at war with Islam. Islam has decided this. There is no country that Islam isn't working to try and undermine. Including most Islamic countries. You can talk until you're blue in the face about "most Muslims just want to be left alone to practice their faith and be like anyone else". It doesn't matter what most Muslims want any more than it matters what I want. The FACTS are that in a hundred countries around the world Islamic Hardliners are trying to take over and instill Shariah law. This must be opposed and repelled. I am an atheist. I would say exactly the same thing if the Christians were committing the atrocities around the world today that the Muslims are committing. I have zero tolerance for Christians atrocities of which they have been many. But to deny the impact of the Islamic extremists of today is to deny reality. We don't have the troop numbers, the money or the ability to ferret out these destructive vermin all over the world. Most those govts, despite public stance otherwise, are giving permission for drone strikes. We CANNOT avoid this war with Islam because Islam will not allow us to avoid it. Drones are better than boots on the ground right now and much more cost effective. You're telling me their isn't collateral damage in any conflict? There is less with drones.
  • jessejaymes
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    @Real4WheelDrv No what I have said is not PC. And the liberals will come down on me for it. Some Obama haters on the right are against Obama using drones. I detested GW Bush but I never said a bad word about using drones. I wish it were a perfect world and people would just live and let live. But there is nothing that can be done about Islamic hardliners. They don't negotiate, they don't care if they die, they don't care if everyone in their family dies. They are religious crazies. All there is to it. Drones are the most effective way of taking out their leaders. I do regret the collateral damage as a person who wishes there were no wars. But war by Islam on the rest of the world is a war chosen by Islam. And in the Islamic Fundamentalist world there are no civilians. Not on our side or theirs. I say yes to drones.
  • Fishbone345
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    I don't have a problem with them using them on bearded cave dwellers. I do take serious issue with them being used here at home. And if you don't think its a matter of time before that happens, you are seriously deluding yourself.

  • View all 7 replies >

  • Dan_Tien
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    The Vietnam War was a good example of what happens when civilians and politicians decide which targets are okay and which are not, who is the enemy and whether or not troops can load their weapons. May as well just surrender and get it over with.
  • LGRepublican
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    Absolutely not. This isn't about Obama, it's about the commander in chief having the ability to make a decision and give an order without having to get permission. Sometimes there's only minutes or seconds before the opportunity is lost, to deny the president (whomever it is) this is to weaken our ability to defend ourselves and take out enemies.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    You ar cetianly unique on politix. A republican that ignores an opportunity to bash obama. But your comment is interesting on several leveals. First, my understanding is that they spend time watching the target locals, identifying the people involved, seeing where they go to to map out whole networks and identify the individuals involved with intel, either from on the ground or drones. Only then after this process are decisions made to kill various people or bomb certain places such as traing camps. My point being it is not a seconds or minutes to respond situation, but more like other military oeration. Once the information is verified they strike within weeks or days maybe hours, but there is time prior to that.

    I am wondering if you know about the fisa court and how it operates? It has fast turnaround, in all these years there has never been a leak. They almost always approve the govt request. These are federal judges who are trusted and have security clearances.
  • Drake_Burrwood
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    True, but it is also about congress declaring war. If congress needs to declare war on individual persons since these persons hide their alliances, Congress need to figure out how that is their job. Which frees the commander in chief to arrange the tactics, time, and place of the attack.
  • u
    CommonSense
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    Absolutely. Too many innocent people are dying. There needs to be oversight.
    And a tightening of the rules. Nobody should get on the list if it is possible to capture the person or to offer the person to hand themselves in.
  • mwr
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    it is the only thing he has done right during his time in office, using drones to remove these scum not only protects service members now but our children and our homes from another attack on u.s. soil!
  • o
    SomethinsFishy
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    My only worry is if he started to use Drones to target Americans living in the USA. There is a 1940 law, if I remember correctly, that allows the Citizenship of even natural-born Americans to be revoked if they serve in enemy forces hostile to the USA.
    Maybe the people that oppose the use of drones would be happier if there was an EXTRA STEP and first revoked the US Citizenship of these individuals. Problem is, LEAKS ARE EVERYWHERE in Washington D.C. By the time the individual's name came up and the process exhausted, that individual would be in some cave somewhere away from Drones. The attorneys representing the enemy combatant would surely get word to them that they are being targeted for a drone strike. If you think people that have no qualms about boarding a bus, a plane, a train, etc. with designer suit made of cemtex, tovex or any other high-explosives, or turning their Nissan into a bomb on wheels to murder the elderly, women, children, etc. OFTEN EVEN MEMBERS OF THEIR OWN RELIGION, but of different sects, then by all means, give these psychotic killers all the chances in the world to murder you, your relatives, friends, etc. In this I do not criticize President Obama. We shouldn't be there in the first place, but if we insist on being there, then FIGHT TO WIN.
  • Vance1
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    Obama shouldnt have "That Much Power" anyway!!
    Obama should get knocked down a couple of peg's soon.

    ALL THESE Liberal pukes were all over the Bush admin for so called torture, and that got us Bin Laden.
    Now Obama is killing Americans, and these Liberals do nothing and you can hear those crickets... wow "What a complete double standard"

    Obama will kill Americans over sea's and soon he will Kill Tea Party 2nd Ammendment loving Americans over here.

    I say impeach this coward Obama now!!
  • wild_turkey6
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    I have to agree with at least your sentiment, no presidential decision should be above due process, Obama's or any other's. And as paranoid as it sounds, I think that you are right and it isn't too much of a stretch of the imagination that political disagreements could turn into accusations of national security threats. But I don't think that Dems are the only ones that could abuse that power. Any setting president could. And scares the hell out of me.
  • Vance1
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    @wild_turkey6

    Indeed, and this also worries me
    Panetta can't explain why Obama never called back during Benghazi attack
  • wild_turkey6
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    @Vance1 One issue at a time. I think Benghazi was a huge cluster ***k and probably a cover up over the cause due to the election. But I doubt there was anything more sinister than that.
  • AlexMIA
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    IDK, does having drone court mean the accused will be notified and allowed to represent themselves? Sounds like a good way of telling your enemy you know what's up and you're going to attack. Why don't you just tell them when and where too? I say if the intel is good, I don't care if it's a drone or a sniper, get it done!
  • DogLady_1
    !
    "Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear." --General Douglas MacArthur
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