Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs Page #11

THAN A THOUSAND CIVILIANS,

NUMBERS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SAYS

ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.

U.S. STRIKES HAVE RESULTED IN

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES.

THOSE DEATHS WILL HAUNT US AS

LONG AS WE LIVE.

Narrator:
THE MOS CONTROVERSIAL TARGET IN THE

HISTORY OF DRONE WARFARE IS

ABOUT TO ENTER THE C.I.A.'S

CROSSHAIRS.

TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, I SAY

YOUR SECURITY WILL CONTINUE TO

BE THREATENED AS LONG AS YOUR

GOVERNMENT CONTINUES WITH ITS

AGGRESSION AGAINST THE MUSLIM

PEOPLE.

Narrator:
HE IS ANWAR

AL-AWLAKI, A SWORN ENEMY OF THE

UNITED STATES AND AN AMERICAN

CITIZEN.

HE WAS BORN IN THE U.S. AND

WAS SOMEONE WHO WAS USING SOCIAL

MEDIA IN ORDER TO CONVEY A

MESSAGE ABOUT JIHAD AND DOING I VERY EFFECTIVELY, AND WAS

SOMEONE WHO HAD GONE TO YEMEN.

THERE WAS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND

THAT HE WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

AND SOMEBODY THAT WE HAD TO GO

AFTER.

AS YOU SEND US YOUR BOMBS, WE

WILL SEND YOU OURS.

Narrator:
THE CHARISMATIC

CLERIC CONSPIRES WITH THE

SO-CALLED UNDERWEAR BOMBER IN A

FAILED PLOT TO BLOW UP AN

AIRLINER OVER DETROIT ON

CHRISTMAS DAY 2009, AND HE

INSPIRES THE JIHADIST MILITAN WHO KILLS 13 AND INJURES MORE

THAN 30 IN A SHOOTING SPREE A FORT HOOD, TEXAS.

I WAS ASKING, "WHAT WERE WE

INTERESTED IN AL-AWLAKI ABOUT?"

WELL, SOMEONE SAID, "WELL,

HE'S... HE'S A BAD GUY.

HE'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S LIST."

SO I SAID, "WHAT LIST IS THAT?"

"WELL, THE GOODBYE LIST."

Narrator:
THE "GOODBYE LIST,"

ALSO KNOWN AS THE "KILL LIST."

IT'S THE GRIM ROSTER OF

TERRORISTS TARGETED FOR

EXECUTION BY THE U.S.

GOVERNMENT.

I, FOR ONE, WAS BORN IN THE

U.S. AND LIVED IN THE U.S. FOR

21 YEARS.

WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS

TO MAKE A CASE FOR WHY AL-AWLAKI

WAS DANGEROUS, AND THE JUSTICE

DEPARTMENT, ALONG WITH THE OUR

GENERAL COUNSEL AND COUNSEL OU OF THE WHITE HOUSE, FELT THAT A

GOOD CASE HAD BEEN MADE TO PU HIM ON THAT LIST.

Narrator:
THE "KILL LIST" IS

AN OPEN SECRET-- SO OPEN THA AL-AWLAKI'S FATHER GOES TO A

U.S. COURT IN A DESPERATE EFFOR TO HAVE HIS SON'S LIFE SPARED.

I WANT DECENT AMERICAN LAWYER

TO TELL ME THAT IT IS RIGHT FOR

THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO

KILL AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ON THE

BASIS THAT HE SAID SOMETHING

AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OR

AGAINST AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

I MEAN, I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Narrator:
THE PETITION IS

REJECTED.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011: DAVID

PETRAEUS IS NOW IN CHARGE WHEN

C.I.A. DRONE PILOTS IN NEVADA

DRAW A BEAD ON AL-AWLAKI IN

YEMEN.

THEY HAVE BEEN WATCHING HIM FOR

DAYS.

GET BACK ON THOSE GUYS.

THERE YOU GO.

I THINK YOU ALWAYS DO SOUL

SEARCHING WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING

INDIVIDUALS IN HARM'S WAY.

YOU TURN THESE OVER IN YOUR MIND

AND... AND THERE ARE OCCASIONS

WHERE YOU SAY, "LET ME MULL THIS

ONE.

LET ME THINK ON IT."

BUT IF YOU ENSURE THAT YOU'RE

WITHIN THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT,

THEN YOU PRESS FORWARD AND MAKE

A DECISION.

Narrator:
MOMENTS LATER,

ANWAR AL-AWLAKI IS DEAD.

AWLAKI WAS THE LEADER OF

EXTERNAL OPERATIONS FOR AL

QAEDA.

Narrator:
NOT SINCE THE CIVIL

WAR HAS THE U.S. GOVERNMEN EXECUTED ONE OF ITS CITIZENS

WITHOUT AN INDICTMENT, TRIAL OR

SENTENCING.

THE PRECEDENT OF AN AMERICAN

PRESIDENT BEING ABLE TO KILL AN

AMERICAN CITIZEN UNDER ANY

CIRCUMSTANCES, ON JUST HIS

SIGNATURE, IS DANGEROUS.

THERE WERE NAZIS WHO WERE

U.S. CITIZENS.

DOES THAT MAKE THEM LESS OF AN

ENEMY?

THERE ARE TERRORISTS WHO ARE

U.S. CITIZENS.

DOES THAT SOMEHOW MAKE THEM LESS

OF AN ENEMY?

I DON'T THINK SO.

IN MY BOOK, A TERRORIST IS A

TERRORIST.

I WOULD PREFER, UNDER THOSE

CIRCUMSTANCES, THAT THERE WAS

SOME KIND OF EXTERNAL BODY WHERE

THE PRESIDENT WOULD PRESENT THE

EVIDENCE TO SOMEBODY OUTSIDE OF

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH, TO SAY, "I

THINK THIS IS CONCLUSIVE.

DO YOU THINK THIS IS CONCLUSIVE?

I DON'T SEE THAT THE

PRESIDENT EVER ALONE MADE A

DECISION ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE

INVOLVED IN THAT DISCUSSION,

DEBATE AND DECISION-MAKING.

THERE'S A PROCESS AND THERE'S

CERTAINLY A DISCUSSION, BUT, A THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S ALL

PRESIDENT'S APPOINTEES, AND THEN

IT'S THE PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURE.

THERE IS NO OUTSIDE REVIEW.

THERE IS NO EXTERNAL EVALUATION

OF THE EVIDENCE.

THIS WAS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN,

AND HE WAS ULTIMATELY TAKEN OUT,

BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THA SHOULD BE LEFT TO ONE PERSON, NO

MATTER WHO THAT PERSON IS.

Narrator:
ANWAR AL-AWLAKI WAS

JUST ONE MAN, BUT THE C.I.A.'S

DRONES HAVE KILLED SCORES,

PERHAPS HUNDREDS WHOSE NAMES ARE

UNKNOWN.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE COMMANDS)

MY WORRY IS THAT THERE ARE

TOO MANY OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL

"SIGNATURE STRIKES," WHICH ARE

AT A GROUP OF SUSPECTED

TERRORISTS WHERE THE EVIDENCE

MAY NOT BE THAT CLEAR OF

SPECIFICALLY WHAT IS GOING ON.

WHAT ABOUT THE SO-CALLED

SIGNATURE STRIKES?

I CAN'T TALK ABOUT SIGNATURE

STRIKES.

IF THEY ARE EVEN TAKEN, I DON' KNOW WHAT THEY ARE.

I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THOSE

GUYS.

I DON'T BELIEVE THESE DIRECTORS

ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF.

I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THEM.

YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO

BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE BAD GUYS

THERE AT THE MOMENT.

YOU DON'T QUITE KNOW THE NAME OF

THE BAD GUY, BUT YOU KNOW THE

VAN, YOU KNOW THE WEAPONRY, YOU

KNOW THE SIZE OF THE GROUP, YOU

KNOW WHAT KIND OF MEETINGS HAVE

BEEN HELD THERE BEFORE, YOU KNOW

THE OTHER VEHICLE THAT PULLED UP

AND YOU MAKE A DECISION.

Narrator:
JANUARY 2015.

C.I.A. DRONES STRIKE A TERRORIS ENCAMPMENT IN PAKISTAN.

TO THE AGENCY'S SURPRISE, KILLED

ALONG WITH THE TERRORISTS ARE

TWO HOSTAGES, INCLUDING A

73-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN AID WORKER.

ON THE BEHALF OF THE UNITED

STATES GOVERNMENT, I OFFER OUR

DEEPEST APOLOGIES TO THE

FAMILIES.

THESE WERE SIGNATURE STRIKES.

THE NAMES OF THE TARGETS WERE

NOT KNOWN.

MISTAKES, SOMETIMES DEADLY

MISTAKES, CAN OCCUR.

IN SOME CASES WHERE PEOPLE

ENDED UP DEAD, I DON'T KNOW

WHETHER THEY WERE COLLABORATORS

OR INNOCENT BYSTANDERS, AND

THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THESE

KINDS OF REMOTE BUTTON WARFARE

GAMES.

I WOULD RATHER UP CLOSE AND

PERSONAL.

THIS IS HARD, ALL RIGHT?

AND ANYBODY WHO MAKES THESE

KINDS OF DECISIONS ARE GOING TO

LOSE SOME SLEEP.

BUT YOU'D ALSO LOSE SLEEP IF YOU

FAILED TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS

AND BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO

AMERICANS.

WHEN PEOPLE ASK YOU, "WHA KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?," WHA I WORRIED ABOUT A GREAT DEAL WAS

THE POTENTIAL FOR A CRIPPLING

CYBER ATTACK ON THIS COUNTRY, A

CYBER PEARL HARBOR ATTACK WHICH

COULD PARALYZE OUR NATION.

WELL, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF

DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES THA COULD KEEP YOU UP.

IT COULD BE EVERYTHING FROM A

LOOSE NUKE SOMEWHERE, TO THE

EMPLOYMENT OF SOME KIND OF NOVEL

W.M.D. ELEMENT IN A DENSELY

POPULATED AREA OF THE UNITED

STATES, TO A VERY SOPHISTICATED

LONE WOLF ATTACK.

THE HOMEGROWN TERRORIST BI IS A HUGE THREAT, EVEN THOUGH

NOT IN TERMS OF FATALITIES IN A

MASSIVE EVENT, BUT IN TERMS OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE-- GETTING

US TO DO THINGS TO RESTRICT OUR

FREEDOMS.

I MEAN, IF YOU SHUT DOWN EVERY

MALL IN THE COUNTRY, YOU SHU DOWN THE TRAINS, THE PLANES, THE

BANKS OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE,

YOU'VE DONE... YOU'VE DONE

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