Secret US memo made legal case to kill Anwar al-Awlaki
Document provided justification for acting despite an executive order banning assassinations
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.
The memo, written last year, followed months of extensive interagency deliberations and offers a glimpse into the legal debate that led to one of the most significant decisions made by President Obama – to move ahead with the killing of an American citizen without a trial.
Tag: Six In The Morning
Oct 09 2011
Six In The Morning
Oct 02 2011
Six In The Morning
Hundreds held in anti-Wall Street protest
Witnesses describe chaotic scenes on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge as police officers surround and handcuff demonstrators.
Last Modified: 02 Oct 2011
New York City police said about 700 protesters have been arrested after they swarmed the Brooklyn Bridge and shut down a lane of traffic for several hours.Police said some demonstrators spilled onto the roadway Saturday night after being told to stay on the pedestrian pathway.
“Over 700 summonses and desk appearance tickets have been issued in connection with a demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge late this afternoon after multiple warnings by police were given to protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway, and that if they took roadway they would be arrested,” said a police spokesman.
“Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Others proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway and were.”
Sep 25 2011
Six In The Morning
Americans’ divide over global warming getting deeper
Despite onslaught of science, resistance to the idea seems to be hardening
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
Tucked between treatises on algae and prehistoric turquoise beads, the study on page 460 of a long-ago issue of the U.S. journal Science drew little attention.
“I don’t think there were any newspaper articles about it or anything like that,” the author recalls.
But the headline on the 1975 report was bold: “Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” And this article that coined the term may have marked the last time a mention of “global warming” didn’t set off an instant outcry of angry denial.
Sep 18 2011
Six In The Morning
Tumult of Arab Spring Prompts Worries in Washington
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: September 17, 2011
WASHINGTON – While the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring created new opportunities for American diplomacy, the tumult has also presented the United States with challenges – and worst-case scenarios – that would have once been almost unimaginable.
What if the Palestinians’ quest for recognition of a state at the United Nations, despite American pleas otherwise, lands Israel in the International Criminal Court, fuels deeper resentment of the United States, or touches off a new convulsion of violence in the West Bank and Gaza?
Sep 11 2011
Six In The Morning
9/11 anniversary: US marks 10 years since attacks
The US has started to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The BBC 11 September 2011
Security is tight following warnings of a possible al-Qaeda attack.The US embassy in Afghanistan has begun the ceremonies, with events due later in the sites where four hijacked planes struck, killing nearly 3,000 people.
An official memorial to those who died is to be unveiled at the site of the World Trade Center, whose twin towers were destroyed in the attacks.
Metal barriers have been erected on roads near the World Trade Center, while police in New York and Washington are stopping and searching large vehicles entering bridges and tunnels.
Sep 04 2011
Six In The Morning
U.S. Appeals to Palestinians to Stall U.N. Vote on Statehood
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and MARK LANDLER
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has initiated a last-ditch diplomatic campaign to avert a confrontation this month over a plan by Palestinians to seek recognition as a state at the United Nations, but it may already be too late, according to senior American officials and foreign diplomats.The administration has circulated a proposal for renewed peace talks with the Israelis in the hopes of persuading the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to abandon the bid for recognition at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly beginning Sept. 20.
Sep 04 2011
Six In The Morning
U.S. Appeals to Palestinians to Stall U.N. Vote on Statehood
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and MARK LANDLER
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has initiated a last-ditch diplomatic campaign to avert a confrontation this month over a plan by Palestinians to seek recognition as a state at the United Nations, but it may already be too late, according to senior American officials and foreign diplomats.The administration has circulated a proposal for renewed peace talks with the Israelis in the hopes of persuading the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to abandon the bid for recognition at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly beginning Sept. 20.
Aug 28 2011
Six In The Morning
10 dead as Hurricane Irene churns up Atlantic
Winds begin to blast Northeast; storm downs trees, leaves millions without power
NBC, msnbc.com and news services
A weakened but still dangerous Hurricane Irene shut down New York and menaced other cities more accustomed to snowstorms than tropical storms as it steamed up the East Coast, unloading a foot of rain on North Carolina and Virginia and knocking out power to 2 million homes and businesses. At least 10 people were dead early Sunday.
By early Sunday, the storm had sustained winds of 80 mph, down from 100 mph on Friday. That made it a Category 1, the least threatening on a 1-to-5 scale, and barely stronger than a tropical storm.
Nevertheless, it was still considered highly dangerous, capable of causing ruinous flooding across much of the East Coast with a combination of storm surge, high tides and six inches to a foot of rain.
Aug 21 2011
Six In The Morning
Operation Mermaid: ‘Rebels in Tripoli have risen up’
Fighting reported in capital; Gadhafi’s former No. 2 urges government troops to join the opposition
NBC, msnbc.com and news servicesTRIPOLI, Libya – Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli through the night as opponents of Moammar Gadhafi rose up in the capital, declaring a final push to topple the Libyan leader after a six-month war reached the city’s outskirts.
“The zero hour has started,” said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the rebel leadership council. “The rebels in Tripoli have risen up.”
However, a defiant Gadhafi said an assault by “rats” had been repelled.“Those rats … were attacked by the masses tonight and we eliminated them,” Gadhafi said in an audio message broadcast over state television early Sunday.
Intense gunfire erupted after nightfall. Reuters journalists in the center of the capital, a metropolis of 2 million people, said it subsided somewhat after several hours. Fighting was reported early Sunday in several neighborhoods.
NATO aircraft made heavy bombing runs after nightfall, The Associated Press reported.
Aug 14 2011
Six In The Morning
Aung San Suu Kyi in first political trip beyond Rangoon
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has made her first political trip outside Rangoon since her release from house arrest last November.
The BBC 14 August 2011She called for national unity as she visited Bago, about 80km (50 miles) north of Burma’s main city.
Hundreds of people lined the streets as her convoy made its way to Bago.
The Burmese authorities had earlier warned that such a trip could trigger unrest and security agents were monitoring the convoy.
However, the BBC’s South-east Asia correspondent, Rachel Harvey, says recent moves have suggested a thaw in relations could be under way.
Aug 07 2011
Six In The Morning
Brown blames US and Europe for ‘throwing away’ recovery
Former prime minister mounts an extraordinary attack on world leaders for mishandling economic crisis and risking ‘a decade of joblessness’
By Matt Chorley, Jane Merrick, Stephen Foley and Margareta Pagano Sunday, 7 August 2011
Gordon Brown today launches an extraordinary attack on the leaders of America, France and Germany, accusing them of being “wrong” on the big economic decisions and failing to heed his warnings over the EU debt crisis.The former British prime minister breaks his silence to claim wrong-headed EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, had “thrown away” another chance of economic recovery. They ignored his warnings about their banks’ debt levels and are exacerbating the financial crisis which, in turn, risks condemning millions of people to a decade of joblessness.
Jul 31 2011
Six In The Morning
Syrian unrest: ‘Many deaths’ as army attacks Hama
The Syrian army has begun an assault on the city of Hama in northern Syria, with residents saying that dozens of people have been killed.
The BBC 31 July 2011Hama has been in a state of revolt and virtually besieged for the past month.
Locals said more than 20 people were killed in “intense gunfire” after forces moved in from several sides.
The army is signalling that it will not tolerate large-scale unrest ahead of the month of Ramadan, when protests are expected to grow, correspondents say.
Syria has seen more than four months of protests against the authoritarian four-decade rule of President Bashar al-Assad’s Baath party.