WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s administration is debating whether to authorize a lethal strike against a U.S. citizen living in Pakistan who some believe is actively plotting terror attacks, according to current and former government officials.
It is the first time U.S. officials have actively discussed killing a U.S. citizen overseas since Obama imposed new restrictions on drone operations in May.
The officials would not confirm the identity of the terror suspect, nor provide any information on the suspect’s involvement in attacks against Americans.
The first time the Obama administration carried out the targeted-killing of a U.S. citizen was in September 2011, when a CIA drone killed radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. The White House acknowledged last year that four U.S. citizens had been killed in drone strikes during Obama’s time in office.
During a speech in May, Obama said he intended to gradually shift drone operations from the CIA to the Pentagon, partly to make them more transparent. U.S. officials said then that drone strikes in Pakistan would continue to be launched by the CIA because Pakistan refuses to allow open U.S. military operations.
U.S. officials said the discussions about whether to strike the American had been going on since the middle of last year. The public got a glimpse of the debate last week when Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, spoke angrily about the restrictions.
“Individuals who would have been previously removed from the battlefield by U.S. counterterrorism operations for attacking or plotting to attack against U.S. interests remain free because of self-imposed red tape,” Rogers said during a congressional hearing.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 02/11/2014