*[Enwl-eng] FYI: Obama assassination drone strikes illegal: Expert

[ENWLine]

*Obama assassination drone strikes illegal: Expert

*WATCH PRESSTV INTERVIEW
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/23/305042/obama-drone-strikes-not-legal/

"The president of the United States in his war powers can only do what the
Constitution and the Congress expressly authorize. There has been no
congressional authorization of a war in Yemen. The attacks, the drone
attacks against Yemen are illegal under the laws of war and therefore the
attack, which killed the four US citizens, are murder."
Press TV has conducted an interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre, human
rights and war crimes lawyer from Vancouver about the admission by US
Attorney General Eric Holder to the killing of four American citizens by US
drones since 2009 in Yemen and Pakistan. The following is an approximate
transcript of the interview.


*Press TV:* How do you react as a lawyer to this admission? Does this make
a case of accountability at least against the US government, vis-à-vis
these killings, easier?

*Webre:* I’ve spent the last little while going over very carefully the
four- or five-page letter of the attorney general and I’ve done it with a
legal fine tooth comb. And what is surprising or not-so surprising is that
the only legal authority mentioned in the entire letter is a 1952 Supreme
Court case called Youngstown Sheet and Tube Versus Sawyer... in 1952, which
is referred to as the ‘steel seizure’ case.

And that case stands entirely for the opposite principle and that is that
the president of the United States in its war powers can only do what the
Constitution and the Congress expressly authorizes. And there is no
declaration of war against Yemen. And this has been an act of war against
Yemen.


That case that the attorney general cites really ... they should go back to
law school. It has to do with President Harry Truman’s seizing of the steel
mills because there was a dispute between the owners and the unions and
Harry Truman seized the steel mills under the war powers because he had
just gone to war against North Korea without a congressional authorization.

The Supreme Court voided and prohibited Harry Truman and set aside his
seizing of the steel mills so that if you take the Youngstown Sheet and
Tube case as the attorney general is arguing and apply it here, there has
been no congressional authorization of a war in Yemen.

The attacks, the drone attacks against Yemen are illegal under the laws of
war and therefore the attacks, which killed the four US citizens, are
murder.


Let me read exactly from the three conditions in the letter so that your
viewers begin to understand the Alice in Wonderland that the Obama
administration is. I mean, this is trying to make people think that they
are above the law.

This is what the letter says ... “Such considerations allow for the use of
lethal force in a foreign country”. So that means, in the entire world. In
effect the US president has declared war against the entire world - against
a US citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qaeda or its
associated forces.”

Excuse me, I have read much research that al-Qaeda is actually run by the
CIA. It is actually a disinformation force of the CIA to keep the war on
terror going. And it was actively engaged in planning to kill Americans in
(certain) circumstances (not disclosed).



--
CAMPAIGN
www.peaceinspace.org



From: "CAMPAIGN" <pe...@peaceinspace.org>
To: "peace-lover" <peace...@yahoogroups.com>; "ENWL" <en...@lew.spb.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2013 11:27 PM
Subject: Obama assassination drone strikes illegal: Expert


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