A Conversation on Targeting Americans with H. Jefferson Powell

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Institute

Law, Terrorism, History, Politics, News, National Security, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Diplomacy, International Law, International Relations, Constitutional Law, Rule Of Law, Current Events, Government, Military

4.7 • 6.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2016

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Four years ago, Anwar al Awlaki—an American citizen—was killed in an American drone strike in Yemen, marking the first targeted killing of a U.S. citizen by the U.S. government. While the attack occurred almost four years ago, the legality, morality and prudential nature of the strike, and others like it that occur nearly daily in a scattershot of countries around the world, remain a subject of much debate.

Last week, Jefferson Powell joined Lawfare’s Jack Goldsmith at the May Hoover Book Soiree for a discussion of Targeting Americans: The Constitutionality of U.S. Drone War, a new book that takes a deep look into the constitutionality of the program. Powell is a Professor of Law at Duke University, and over the hour, he argues that the killing of Anwar al Awlaki under the 2001 AUMF was constitutional, but that the Obama administration’s broader claims of authority are not. He also asserts that American citizens acting as combatants in al Qaeda are not entitled to due process protections. Yet constitutional claims should not be confused with what is moral, or indeed, what is legal under international norms. Those answers, Powell suggests, must be examined through means other than constitutional law.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The following podcast contains advertising.
0:04.0	To access an ad-free version of the LawFair podcast,
0:08.0	become a material supporter of LawFair at patreon.com slash law fair.
0:14.0	That's patreon.com slash law fair.
0:18.0	Also, check out LawFair's other podcast offerings,
0:22.0	rational security, chatter, law fair no bull, and the aftermath.
0:29.0	Charles Evans Hughes said when he wasn't Chief Justice of the United States,
0:37.0	that the power to wage war is a power to wage war successful.
0:41.0	That is, I think, a fundamental premise of the constitutional system.
0:47.0	And if targeted killing is one of the effective means of waging war successfully,
0:55.0	in the 21st century context, it has the same constitutional status as the
1:03.0	that wife or one of the tree at the Battle of Saratoga.
1:07.0	It's another means of waging war successfully in the defense of the Republic.
1:11.0	Saratoga was the establishment of the Republic.
1:15.0	But that doesn't leave, number one, that doesn't leave the federal government unconstrained.
1:23.0	There are various kinds of constraints that are discussed in the book.
1:27.0	The power to wage war is the power to wage war successfully,
1:31.0	but not necessarily by all means that someone might think necessary for success.
1:37.0	I'm Cody Poplin, and this is the LawFair podcast, May 21st, 2016.
1:43.0	That was the voice of Jefferson Powell discussing the legality of the US targeted killing program.
1:48.0	Last week, Powell joined LawFair's Jack Goldsmith at the May Hoover Booksory for a discussion of his new book,
1:54.0	Targeting Americans, the constitutionality of US Drone War.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Lawfare Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Lawfare Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.