Al-Awlaki on the Drone That Killed His Grandson

Nasser al-Awlaki writes in the NYT today that "[t]he Obama administration must answer for its actions and be held accountable" for the targeted killing of his grandson, Abdulrahman.  Al-Awlaki is also the father of Anwar al-Awlaki, also targeted and killed in a drone strike.

Al-Awlaki writes just a day before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia will hear oral arguments on the government's motion to dismiss his case (on Friday).  [UPDATE: The argument is tomorrow, Friday.]  We previously posted on that case here; the Center for Constitutional Rights has its case resource page here.  The government argues that the issue is a political question, that special factors counsel against a monetary damages remedy, and that officials enjoy qualified immunity.

Al-Awlaki's earlier suit, to stop the government from killing his son Anwar, was dismissed.  That court ruled that al-Awlaki lacked standing and failed to allege a violation of the Alien Tort Statute, and that the case raised non-justiciable political questions.

Here's our post on the DOJ white paper, the administration's analysis (leaked) on why targeted killing of U.S. citizens is legal.

SDS