This Worry you?? License to Kill? Intelligence Chief Says U.S. Can Take Out American Terrorists

License to Kill? Intelligence Chief Says U.S. Can Take Out American Terrorists
Director of National Intelligence Says Intelligence Community Can Target Citizens Presenting a Terrorist Threat

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By JASON RYAN
Feb. 3, 2010

The director of national intelligence affirmed rather bluntly today that the U.S. intelligence community has authority to target American citizens for assassination if they present a direct terrorist threat to the United States.
Information gained from the Christmas Day bomber has officials on high alert.

"We take direct actions against terrorists in the intelligence community; if … we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that," Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the House Intelligence Committee.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra D-Mich., addressed the issue at today's hearing.

"The targeting of Americans -- it's a very sensitive issue, but again there's been more information in the public domain than what has been shared with this committee," he said.
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"There is no clarity." Hoekstra said. "What is the legal framework?"

"Whether that American is involved in a group that is trying to attack us, whether that American has -- is a threat to other Americans. Those are the factors involved." Blair explained. "We don't target people for free speech. We target them for taking action that threatens Americans."
Increasing Threat?

Blair said this is "a threat, which may be increasing. We're taking it more and more seriously and this is a -- this is something that is very -- is potentially very dangerous to us because of all of the -- for all of the reasons of the rights that American citizens have.

"We may be shooting behind the rabbit here and it's moving faster than we thought and we're spending a lot of additional effort on that, to try and understand it." Blair said.