Drone Killings Case Thrown Out of U.S. Court
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Friday filed by the families of three American citizens killed in drone strikes in Yemen, saying senior officials could not be held responsible for financial damages incurred in an act of war.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Friday filed by the families of three American citizens killed in drone strikes in Yemen, saying senior officials could not be held responsible for financial damages incurred in an act of war.
Reuters reports:
The families of the three – including Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born militant Muslim cleric who had joined al-Qaida’s Yemen affiliate, as well as his teenage son – sued over their 2011 deaths in US drone strikes, arguing that the killings were illegal.
Judge Rosemary Collyer of the US district court in Washington threw out the case, which had named as defendants the former defence secretary and CIA chief Leon Panetta, the former senior military commander and CIA chief David Petraeus and two other top military commanders.
“The question presented is whether federal officials can be held personally liable for their roles in drone strikes abroad that target and kill U.S. citizens,” Collyer said in her opinion. “The question raises fundamental issues regarding constitutional principles and it is not easy to answer.”
The judge said she would grant the government’s request to dismiss the case.
Read more here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
TRUTHDIG’S JOURNALISM REMAINS CLEARThe storytellers of chaos tried to manipulate the political and media narrative in 2025, but independent journalism exposed what they tried to hide.
When you read Truthdig, you see through the illusion.
Support Independent Journalism.
If the Democrats' impeachment action fails to address the "constitutional rot" that has occurred over decades, U.S. democracy may be doomed.
The collapse of our democratic institutions began long before the arrival of Trump, who is capitalizing on the evisceration of the rule of law.
The WikiLeaks founder's arrest will have serious repercussions for the media.
His arrest by British police, a flagrant violation of international law, signals the final stage of the destruction of a free press.
The death spiral appears unstoppable, meaning the U.S. as we know it will no longer exist within a decade or, at most, two.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.