Thread:Comments:US federal judge dismisses targeted killing lawsuit/Should Anwar al-Awlaki be the subject of targeted killing by the United States government?/reply (3)

"This list amounts to nothing more than the sanction of extrajudicial killings of U.S. Citizens" Anwar al-Awlaki is the only US citizen on the list, which is why he's generated interest.

This isn't about his statements or beliefs, which "do not meet the threshold" for addition to the list. It's only when they can be considered a military target, with access to weapons and an intent to use or distribute them, that they become subject to "targeted killing." For example, one of the successfully killed targets was an al-Qaeda explosives supplier. The US has been doing this under both Bush and Obama (Obama being the one to authorize Anwar to be added, despite being a US citizen) with the cooperation (publicly known or otherwise) of the countries in which the targeted killings take place.