Secret panel can put Americans on "kill list''

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/us-cia-killlist-idUSTRE79475C20111005

Reuters
                              Oct 5 2011
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*Secret panel can put Americans on "kill list''*

*Obama, who ran for president denouncing predecessor George W. Bush's
expansive use of executive power in his "war on terrorism," is being
attacked in some quarters for using similar tactics. They include secret
legal justifications and undisclosed intelligence assessments.*

*By Mark Hosenball<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=mark.hosenball&>
*

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed
on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government
officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to
officials.

There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel,
which is a subset of the White House's National Security Council, several
current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing
its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.

The panel was behind the decision to add Awlaki, a U.S.-born militant
preacher with alleged al Qaeda connections, to the target list. He was
killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen late last month.