Counterterrorism

Targeting American Terrorists with Drones: Efficient, But Legal?

Exercising the right to self-defense in targeting and killing terrorists attempting to attack the United States is a relatively easy decision to make. These are foreign combatants who have been identified as terrorists, and where it has been proven there are no better or safer means to capture them then targeted killing can be justified.  The issue escalates to another plane, however, when such an enemy combatant is a U.S. citizen.

Where the precedent has been codified to apply legal jurisdiction to U.S. citizens anywhere in the world based upon their citizenship also implies equal application of constitutional guarantees. Yet the very nature of a targeted killing obviates the process of constitutional protection. The executive branch has retained to itself the role of judicial adjudication in determining a citizen’s guilt in supporting terrorism, with no recourse for the accused to challenge the charges or facts, nor seek appellate review of their case.

On the one hand, the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees due process of law, a guarantee that extends to U.S. citizens no matter where in the world they may be. A drone attack robs an individual of any due process opportunity to protest the accusation of terrorism and demonstrate his or her innocence. There is certainly no opportunity to face an accuser when a missile drops out of the sky killing them.