Sentence examples for lawful targets from inspiring English sources
That said, he cautioned, additional factors complicate the analysis of selecting lawful targets.
But it says that the United States is stretching the limits of who can be lawful targets.
"Our procedures and practices for identifying lawful targets are extremely robust," he said in a speech, without describing them.
"Our procedures and practices for identifying lawful targets are extremely robust, and advanced technologies have helped to make our targeting even more precise".
Koh has defended the administration's standards in the past, saying in 2010: "Our procedures and practices for identifying lawful targets are extremely robust". The administration follows rules of distinguishing between civilians and combatants "rigorously" and "in accordance with all applicable law", he said.
The designation fails to adequately distinguish between civilians and lawful targets, the report notes.
Under these, he points out, civilians who join in a conflict by directly participating in hostilities make themselves a lawful target for enemy forces.
That order, the lawyers found, blocked unlawful killings of political leaders outside of war, but not the killing of a lawful target in an armed conflict.
It preliminarily concluded, based on the evidence available at the time, that Mr. Awlaki was a lawful target because he was participating in the war with Al Qaeda and also because he was a specific threat to the country.
Based on those premises, the Justice Department concluded that Mr. Awlaki was covered by the authorization to use military force against Al Qaeda that Congress enacted shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — meaning that he was a lawful target in the armed conflict unless some other legal prohibition trumped that authority.
Even though Tuesday's decision means the courts likely won't decide whether Awlaki is a lawful target, the questions raised by this case, brought by the ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights, still cry out for answers.
