Chris Edelson Says Sen. Rand Paul Is Right About Drone Killings
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has called on the Obama administration to publicly disclose its legal justifications for the claimed power to order the killing, without trial or hearing, of U.S. citizens abroad who are suspected of being terrorist leaders planning attacks against the United States. Paul's criticism of the targeted killing program and his insistence that the Obama administration make the Barron memos available to the public has nothing to do with defending terrorists, writes Chris Edelson, a professor and researcher who specializes in presidential power. To the contrary, he is rightly standing up for the principle that secret law has no place in a constitutional democracy, and that even U.S. citizens who are clearly no angels cannot be killed on the basis of unproven claims.