Maria LaHood on US Assassination Attempt on Anwar al-Awlaki

April 2011

From DemocracyNow.org: The Obama administration launched a drone strike in Yemen last week in an attempt to assassinate a U.S.-born Muslim cleric who has never been convicted of a crime. Anwar al-Awlaki survived the attack, but two suspected members of Al Qaeda died. Democracy Now! speaks to Center for Constitutional Rights senior staff attorney Maria LaHood about the U.S. assassination campaign. It was reported to be the first U.S. drone strike in Yemen in nine years. "It is illegal to kill a U.S. citizen in Yemen without due process," LaHood says. The attempted assassination of al-Awlaki comes just days after U.S. special forces executed Osama Bin Laden and NATO planes bombed Libyan leader's Col. Muammar Gaddafi's compound, killing his son and three grandchildren. "The way to stop terror is not by terror," LaHood says, "The way to stop killing is not by killing."

Last modified 

August 16, 2012