On the problems of drone killing and drone surveillance, he has said,
I am not convinced . . . by the Administration’s legal rationale for the targeted killing of a United States citizen overseas. The [Administration's] white paper describes a balancing test for Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights tilted so far in favor of government interests that a potential target appears to have little chance at meaningful due process when he is nominated to the so-called ‘kill list.’
“I also remain unconvinced about the targeted killing of terrorist suspects who are non-citizens. Although the Administration appears to rest its claim of authority on the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by Congress in 2001, it is not clear to me that Congress intended to sanction lethal force against a loosely-defined enemy in an indefinite conflict with no borders and no discernible end date.
“And I remain deeply troubled by the widely reported use of so-called ‘signature strikes,’ where suspects display suspicious activity but their identities are unknown prior to the government’s use of lethal force against them. To date, the Administration has not even acknowledged that this program exists—let alone provided this Committee with the information it requires to examine the legality of the program.
(See "Conyers Statement at Oversight Hearing on Drones", February 27, 2013)“I also remain unconvinced about the targeted killing of terrorist suspects who are non-citizens. Although the Administration appears to rest its claim of authority on the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by Congress in 2001, it is not clear to me that Congress intended to sanction lethal force against a loosely-defined enemy in an indefinite conflict with no borders and no discernible end date.
“And I remain deeply troubled by the widely reported use of so-called ‘signature strikes,’ where suspects display suspicious activity but their identities are unknown prior to the government’s use of lethal force against them. To date, the Administration has not even acknowledged that this program exists—let alone provided this Committee with the information it requires to examine the legality of the program.
A bill is pending in Congress -- the The Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (HR 4372) -- also known as the "Come Clean on Drone Killing" Act. At this writing, quite a few of Rep. Conyers' fellow progressive caucus members have become co-sponsors for the bill. Now we need Rep. Conyers' strong leadership.
Rep. Conyers' constituents need to contact him and urge him to co-sponsor the bill today.
Additional resources to help:
Identify your member of Congress
Example letter to a member of Congress in support of HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act (the "come clean on drone killings" act)
Related posts
First
Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) called the U.S.
on the carpet for dodging the call from the international community to
come clean about its drone killings. Then Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and
Walter Jones (R-NC) submitted a bill calling for drone transparency. So
... are we finally going to get the truth?(See REAL Progressives Demand that the U.S. Come Clean on Drone Killings)
(See Report Back from "On the Road to Ground the Drones" Walk by Bob Palmer)
(See 2014: The Year of Transparency (for U.S. Drone Use)?)
