U.S. Sued Over Assassination Effort

Hold your fire: Two human-rights groups have sued to challenge the Obama administration’s decision to authorize the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born Muslim cleric who is hiding in Yemen. The ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed the suit on behalf of al-Awlaki’s father and argue that the U.S. government should not be authorized to kill an American citizen away from battlefield without judicial review. The Obama administration argues that al-Awlaki has essentially defected to the enemies during a time of war; some legal experts point out that the government needs a warrant to eavesdrop on a U.S. citizen and that killing him should presumably require at least the same amount of review.