Does the US government have the right to kill an American citizen during wartime without due process? That was just one of the issues raised when the CIA targeted and killed Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula leader Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen who has been cited in several attacks, including being the inspiration for the Fort Hood massacre. Leaks at the time of the attack last September suggested that the administration had a go ahead from the Department of Justice in the form of a highly classified legal opinion. Now, the Daily Beast reports that the Obama administration, after months of debate, has decided to publicly justify the killing of Awlaki: Now the administration is poised to take its case directly to the American people. In the coming weeks, according to four participants in the debate, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. is planning to make a major address on the administration's national-security record. Embedded in the speech will be a carefully worded but firm...(Read Full Post)