Drones in the US: Senators Could Derail CIA Nominee Confirmation Over Administration's Drone Program

Impact

A bipartisan group of 11 senators sent a letter to President Obama Monday asking for "any and all legal opinions" that describe the basis for the authority to "deliberately kill American citizens."  

The senators are threatening to "collide" with the administration during CIA director nominee John Brennan's confirmation hearing on Thursday over the White House recently leaked and controversial drone memo. 

"The executive branch's cooperation on this matter will help avoid an unnecessary confrontation that could affect the Senate's consideration of nominees for national security positions," the senators wrote. 

The drone program, one of the most important tools in the administration's counterterrorism campaign, has become a controversial part of Obama's foreign policy as critics from both sides of the aisle question its legality as well as its effectiveness as they say could exacerbate militant's resentment against the U.S (the senators' questions follow a 2011 drone strike in Yemen that killed two Americans; Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan). 

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