The Obama administration has finally acknowledged the names and circumstances of four American citizens that were killed by drones, in a letter to Congress.
The letter will be embedded below the post.
Via Washington Post:
The Obama administration acknowledged Wednesday that it has killed four Americans in overseas counterterrorism operations since 2009, the first time it has publicly taken responsibility for the deaths.
Although the acknowledgment, contained in a letter from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to Congress, does not say how the four were killed, three are known to have died in CIA drone strikes in Yemen in 2011: Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son and Samir Khan.
The fourth — Jude Kennan Mohammad, a Florida native indicted in North Carolina in 2009 — was killed in Pakistan, where the CIA has operated a drone campaign against terrorism suspects for nearly a decade. His death was previously unreported.
The timing of this letter and acknowledgment of the American citizens killed by drones is strange to say the least, just a day before Barack Obama is due to give, what is being billed as a "major speech" about his counterterrorism policies.
One would think with the news cycle lately being focused on the multiple scandals rocking the White House right now that Obama would want have wanted at least one if not more cycles to focus on his speech and the release of the AG letter to Congress almost guarantees divided coverage.
AG Letter below:
AG Letter-5-22-13.pdf uploaded by Susan Duclos
