This Is The Real Scary Stuff, Just In Time For Halloween.

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http://www.theblaze.com/stories/reuters-govt-has-secret-panel-that-can-put-americans-on-kill-list/

Reuters: Gov‘t Has Secret Panel That Can Put Americans on ’Kill List’

    * Posted on October 6, 2011 at 10:34am by Jonathon M. Seidl Jonathon M. Seidl

There’s some shocking news coming from Reuters. According to the wire service, a secret government panel exists that can put Americans on a “kill list.” It’s unclear what role the president plays in such decisions.

Reuters explains:

    American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials.

    There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House’s National Security Council, several current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.

    The panel was behind the decision to add Awlaki, a U.S.-born militant preacher with alleged al Qaeda connections, to the target list. He was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen late last month.

    The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process.

Reuters cited the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, who said the process involves “going through the National Security Council, then it eventually goes to the president, but the National Security Council does the investigation, they have lawyers, they review, they look at the situation, you have input from the military, and also, we make sure that we follow international law.”

You can read the full report form Reuters.

Trick or Treat.