the death -- the death of al awlaki is a major blow to al qaeda's most active affiliate. >> the president at an unrelated event there getting interrupted with applause that anwar al awlaki had been killed. that's the specific instructions he use the, al awlaki was killed. he was killed. well, how did that happen? today, a year and a half later in this letter sent to congress the u.s. government admitted, wasn't just that he was killed, wasn't just an observed phenomenon, he went into an elaborate explanation why it was not just legal, but a good idea for the u.s. to kill anwar al awlaki. quote, the united states specifically targeted and killed him. then the same letter today also goes on to name three other u.s. citizens who were also killed by the united states, even though they were not, quote, specifically targeted for killing. one of those three is the guy from the fbi wanted poster. again, this announcement about the u.s. killing him appears to be a bit of surprise today, including maybe even to the fbi, who wanted him. the other two are americans who were widely known to have been killed in u.s. drone strikes. one was anwar's teenaged son, who was kille

that's who anwar al awlaki was. he was continuously trying to kill people. >> these new factual allegations about what awlaki did are part of the case the government is now making for why it was okay to kill him. are these new factual allegations true? joining us now is jeremy scahill, national security correspondent and author of "the new door stop" available at your local book shop. "dirty wars," film maker of "dirty wars" premiering in select cities across the country june 7th. jeremy, thank you for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> those factual allegations are part of an important political argument about why that targeted killing was okay. what do you maybe of those factual allegations? >> it was really interesting today, because the president also said that if he had the opportunity, he would have detained and prosecuted anwar awlaki. if that's true, why didn't they seek an indictment? why not bring into a court of law, seek his extradition, and if you can't get his extradition, all sorts of options avai

obama bestowed on anwar al-awlaki, no one had heard of that before, that he was the head of external qaeda operations within the arabian peninsula. if anything, he would have been very low level management. we get obsessed with inspire magazine because they are speaking in english. if you read in arabic what has been produced by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and to study was important in that organization, anwar al-awlaki is a nobody. in terms of the jihadist population that is in the circle of aqap. he was convenient because he was preaching in english to a wider audience. >> you quote an intelligence analyst about his role. >> it right, he was a mid-level management. he would not do anything without being told what to do. in a groundkilled attack along with samir khan. then what happened. >> then his son, we had been living with his grandparents and turnedher, he had just 16. one morning he went into his mother's purse before anyone had gotten up and he had gotten up and took the equivalent of $40 out of it her purse and left a small note saying, "please, forgive me. i miss my

anwar awlaki's father, nasser al-awlaki, spoke earlier this year about his killing of his grandson.the attack came as the denver- born teenager was eating dinner with his teenage cousin. he was killed just weeks after his father was assassinated. this is nasser al-awlaki. >> i want americans to know about my grandson, that he was a very nice boy. he was a very caring boy for his family, for his mother and brothers. in august 1995 in the state of colorado, city of denver. he was raised in america. i never thought that one day, this boy, this nice boy, would be killed by his own government. >> that was nasser al-awlaki. ccr-aclu tape. >> this is a very important lawsuit that has been brought by dr. nasser al-awlaki. in full disclosure, i have spent time with the family and spent a lot of time with most of the awlaki family. there is not a shred of evidence to indicate that abdulrahman, this teenager, had anything whatsoever to do with terrorism, yet he was killed in this drone strike the white house has not said, this is why this boy was killed. all we have are the statements from peo

anwar al awlaki. who was killed in an american drone strike in 2011. >> for the record, i do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any u.s. citizen with a drone or with a shotgun without due process. nor should any president deploy armed drones over u.s. soil. but when a u.s. citizen goes abroad to wage war against america and is actively plotting to kill u.s. citizens, and when neither the united states nor our partners are in a position to capture him before he carries out a plot, his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd should be protected from a s.w.a.t. team. that's who anwar al awlaki was. he was continuously trying to kill people. >> then just as the president was pivoting to the thorny issue of the prison at guantanamo and the rule of law, a protester stood up and started shouting questions about that very issue and kept on shouting at him for several minutes. >> there is no justification beyond pol

the government acknowledged anwar al awlaki. we acknowledged three other u.s. citizens who were killed in counterterrorism operations that were not targeted, but in addition, set forth in that letter is effectively a new standard for our counterterrorism activities, that the individual must be a continuing and imminent threat to americans and that capture should not be feasible. those standards previously were only in place when it comes to u.s. citizens, and what the letter discloses is that from this point forward, and this is probably been in place for awhile now, that standard will be in place for any targeted lethal force off the so-called hot battlefield, and that's a pretty rigorous standard, and i think it's an acknowledgment that we are moving to a different phase in our counterterrorism efforts. we've been in a so-called arm conflict now for almost the last 12 years, since 9/11, that is involved the u.s. military, other assets of the u.s. government, and we're now in a different phase. some call it an inflection point, where core al qaeda has been eff

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> president obama just announced kill naturalized terrorists like anwar al-awlaki ago? never mind. in other news, president obama said he wanted to close gitmo. he is that he had four years ago. folks the obama administration is reviving these old stories because they are scared. they are worried with 300 million americans heading out to the backyard barbecues this weekend the only thing we will be talking about the obama scandal. benghazi, irs, dorj surveiling fox. they are trying to change the news cycle by sending out these. they chase the rabbits and lucky for you we shoot the rabbits and not chase them. today he decides to do a speech on foreign policy an hour long speech about drones. >> andrea: i think he picked an issue, not there universal agreement on but controversial. universal agreement it would be a yawn and snooze but the issue of drones. so he is willing to allow the controversy he thinks that will spur debate maybe to cloud over these scandals. it's not going to work. it's definitely not going to work i think he is trying to burn his credentials on

holder says only al awlaki, anwar al-awlaki was targeted directly, shepard. >> you know, it's my understanding, that the president is expected to make some very big news on guantanamo bay his speech tomorrow. >> that's right. in fact, the president during his speech tomorrow plans to announce, we know according to sources, plans to announce that he is lifting restrictions on the transfer of detainees from guantanamo bay to yemen. that process had been frozen. the transfer of those detai yemen had been frozen for some time. the renewed cooperation with yemen is likely to decrease the gitmo detainee population we're told which currently stands at 166 prisoners. 103 of those prisoners are currently on hunger strike. they are being force fed for the past 100 days. the president, as you will remember, promised to close gitmo when he took office. but he has been stymied in doing so, shepard. >> shepard: jennifer griffin reporting from the pentagon tonight with a little drama over on capitol hill today when a top irs official showed up at the hearing and took the fifth. one republican though said not

four americans, were not only legal and just but his presidential duty he used the example of anwar al awlakirican citizen in al qaeda, propagandist killed by a drone strike in yemen almost two years ago. >> i would have detained and prosecuted awlaki if we captured him before he carried out a plot. but we couldn't. and as president i would have been derelict in my duty had i not authorized the strike that took him out. >> the obama administration identified awlaki as an operations chief. i want to bring in someone who has been covering this topic expansively the author of the book "dirty wars" on the u.s. covert wars now a documentary premiering next month. >> thanks for having me. >> air strikes, targeted killings. >> how had a covert unit taken over the largest war on the planet? >> an exciting little scene from "the dirty wars" documentary. he is the national security correspondent for the progressive magazine "the nation" and joins me. thanks so much for being here. i know you question the legal ju justification for these strikes. president obama gave more than we've heard about the role

today, the president said only one of them was specifically targeted: new mexico born anwar al-awlaki, a top al qaeda leader in yemen. >> when a u.s. citizen goes abroad the wage war against america his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd should be protected from a swat team. >> reporter: mr. obama urged congress to close the military prison in guantanamo bay, cuba. to that end, he will seek permission to end 86 of the 166 jailed terror suspects already cleared for release to other countries. >> imagine a future ten years from now or 20 years from now when the united states of america is still holding people who have been charged with no crime on a piece of land that is not part of our country. >> reporter: the president said -- wait a minute. republicans in congress scott said that they have no interest in closing guantanamo bay or seeing detainees released fearing they could seek revenge. an intelligence report in january, scott, found fewer than 5% of those detainees released since 2009 have rejoined the fight. >> pelley: ma

tar get and killed an american citizen anwar al-awlaki with a drone strike in september of 2011 saying al-awlaki presented a continuing and eminent attack of violent tlets against the united states and acknowledged three other citizens involved in terrorism have been killed by drones. today president obama will renew his first-term pledge to shut down guantanamo bay where a hunger strike has been ongoing for 105 days. nbc's national investigative correspondent is michael is cough and isikoff. based on what you have learned how has the cia been identifieding targets for drone strikes to this point? >> in ways that do differ in some respects from the way that administration officials including the president have described it in a talk in january of last year. president obama -- this is google news firm said these operations were targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists. they said the u.s. government conducts targeted strikes against specific al qaeda terrorists. when you look at the cia documents on these drone strikes, you see that many are against suspec

eric holder, the attorney general, told congress only one american, anwar al awlaki, a well known prop pagaganda istpr intentionally killed by drone strikes, the three others were described as collateral damage. drone strikes are less frequent now since 2010 since president obama is turning away from this particular tool in his were on terrorism. in his speech president obama will also acknowledge he'll accelerate transfer of inmates at the guantanamo bay facility where a hunter strike is now being conducted by a hundred of those detain yeahs, a third of them being fed by medical tubes. there have only been five transfers from guantanamo bay since 2010. of the 166 inmates there now, 86 have been cleared for eventual transfer. major garrett, cbs news, the white house. >>> british government officials say yesterday's brutal attack outside a military barracks was likely an act of terrorism. motivated by radical islam. two suspects are in custody this morning. late yesterday a right wing group that opposes the spread of islam clashed with british speech. one of the suspects called the atta

what was generally known was that anwar al-awlaki was the first targeted assassination by the administration that had been killed in 2011 in yemen. but this was confirmation also that two other people, his son and another man, were also killed in yemen in 2011. the administration says that they were not intentional targets, nor was the fourth who with a north carolina president, born in the united states, a u.s. citizen beenas killed, and who had previously indicted by an american jury on kidnapping and murder conspiracy charges. all this comes on the eve of president obama's long anticipated speech on thursday in which he will lay out for the first time the criteria and justification for this policy of his, targeted killing in the case of al-awlaki, an american citizen. >> welcome back. top stories on al jazeera, a man believed to be a serving military officer was hacked to death by two men. prime minister david cameron's as there is a strong indication it was an act of terrorism. foreign ministers and friends of syria meeting in jordan. the u.s. has acknowledged for the first time that fou

that's who anwar al awlaki was.inuously trying to kill people he helped oversee the 2010 plot to detonate explosive devices on two u.s. bound cargo planes. he was involved in planning to blow up an airliner in 2009. if faruq abdul helped him tape martyr dom video to be shown after the attack and his last instructions were to blow up the airplane when it was over american soil. i would have detained and prosecuted al awlaki if we captured him before he carried out a plot. but we couldn't and as president i would have been derelict in my duty had i not authorized the strike that took him out. ing if my administration submitted information to the department of justice months before al awlaki was i would and briefed the congress before this strike as well. but the high threshold that we have set for taking lethal action applies to all potential terrorist targets regardless of whether or not they are american citizens this flesh holds respects the human dig any of every human life. alongside the decision to put our men a

the government targeted one of those citizens anwar al-awlaki who was working with al-qaeda, but the three other victims were not targeted. >>> tonight family and friends of julian dawkins are desperately looking for answers after an off-duty arlington county sheriff's deputy shot and killed the 22-year-old around 1:00 this morning on lynhaven drive in alexandria. dawkins was shot while on his cell phones three doors from his home. neighbors say it started over a dice game. for the last three years julian worked as a shuttle driver for the pbs newshour. his former co-workers are heartbroken. >> shock, sad, tragic. he was young. he had a lot to look forward to in life and he was very well liked and we're going to miss him. >> the sheriff's deputy who shot dawkins is a man named craig patterson who is a 17 year veteran. no charges have been filed, but he is on administrative leave for now. >>> tonight out of state neighbors are pouring into tornado ravaged moore, oklahoma, as residents are trying to dig through that rubble. survivors and their helpers are looking for any personal belon

does this apply when anwar al awlaki who's an american citizen joins the battlefield, let's say, in yemen? then civil libertarians are saying, yes, that person should be arrested and given due process. if this person declared war on the country and is engaged actively in that war, it's a really difficult line. i think the president is going to continue to grapple with it with a lot of his base. >> david, you wanted to throw your two in on that point. >> i thought it was very interesting in the letter attorney general eric holder sent to congress yesterday and in the president's own speech they went to great lengths to explain the awlaki decision and talked about how it wasn't just part of al qaeda, he was engaged in active plotting. i mean, i think it's kind of stunning, i'm sorry this wasn't in primetime. i'm not sure the ratings would have been that high. but to watch a president in public grappling, as joy says, with some of these very tough issues -- i'm very sympathetic to the civil libertarian critics of the fpresident. >> right. >> here he was making a good case as one can for care

killed in drone attacks over the past four years to among those killed was us-born preacher anwar al- awlaki the un has called for new peace talks after a breakdown in the drc. thousands were forced to flee after days of fighting between rebels and government troops near the eastern city of goma. >> this is what it feels like to come home and find your two- year-old daughter blown into pieces. a stray rocket landed here, killing her and injuring her four sisters. her mother was out buying food for them at the market. she cries, "god, is it true? is it true?" >> i heard at a very loud bang and i came running. i saw her. she was already dead. >> this is the house where the rocket landed. it came straight through the roof and almost completely destroyed it. the pieces of wood that made it up are now mashed up here on the floor. torn to shreds. there was nobody inside the house at the time, but she and her sisters were playing just outside. --a nearby hilltop, unp key un peacekeepers monitor the fighting between m23 rebels and the congolese government. they cannot really do much more. depending

that was al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, anwar al awlaki who was targeted, the other three not, but he argued in very specific detail as the president's expected to do today that the use of these drones is legal. also in the speech today, the president expected to talk about beefing up embassy security after the deadly attack on the consulate in benghazi. and he'll once again push to close gitmo, the prison, the military prison down at guantanamo bay, a promise from the first term that the president is now resurrecting. we're told, richard, he may also hit on those journalist phone records that were seized by the justice department. another tie here to national security because the justice department said they had to find out and plug that leak coming from within the administration. >> tracie, as you've been watching the responses there from lawmakers on the hill, specifically to the admission there of drone attacks and those four americans that were killed, any response yet? >> reporter: not completely convinced lawmakers here that the administration's use of drone attacks is justi

americans in drone strikes overseas, although it said only one of them, radical muslim cleric anwar al-awlakiwas specifically targeted. growing numbers of ethicists and religious leaders have been raising concerns about the u.s. drone attacks. this week, bishop richard pates, chair of the catholic bishops' committee on international peace and justice wrote to government leaders urging more discussion and scrutiny. he said targeted killings by drones raise "serious moral questions." in his speech, the president also renewed his pledge to try to close the guantanamo bay detention center. in recent weeks, some faith-based groups have been ramping up protests in support of the more than one hundred guantanamo detainees who are on hunger strikes. >>> faith-based groups are mounting a massive mobilization to help victims of this week's devastating tornadoes. as many as 13,000 homes in oklahoma were destroyed in the storms that also killed 24 people. in the immediate wake of the tornadoes, clergy around the world called for special praye. in the affected areas, local churches became shelters and rel

letter to congress, attorney general eric holder said the only one who was targeted on purpose was anwar al-awlakiical cleric killed two years ago in yemen. he was linked to terror plots, including the attempt to blow up a jetliner over detroit on christmas day in 2009. the other americans were killed while in the company of other targets. one of them is a name that we have not heard before, jude muhammad, he was killed by a u.s. drone in pakistan. we've been telling you about the crackdown on sexual misconduct in the military. well, now an army sergeant who is on the staff at west point is accused of secretly videotaping female cadets as they showered. sergeant michael mcclendon, a veteran of the iraq war, is charged with violating the military code. the next mayor of los angeles says he will focus like a laser on the economy. city councilman eric garcetti defeated city controller wendy gruel by eight points yesterday. garcetti is the son of the former l.a. district attorney gill garcetti. the new mayor will take office on july 1. an oklahoma family tells us how they narrowly escaped death when t

citizen, anwar al-awlaki for death via drone strike in yemen. the government also acknowledged three other american b citizens involved in terrorism have been killed in drone strikes. in the letter to congress, attorney general eric holder detailed a legal defense for targeting al-awlaki, well known for jihadist writings. holder wrote his targeting of americans including the attempted underwear bomber attack and the plot to hide bombs on cargo planes made him a legally justified target because he was an imminent threat, could not be captured and was a legitimate target under the laws of war. this comes on the eve of a speech in which president obama plans to lay out a broader counter terrorism strategy incluing a legal framework and much more public oversight of drone strikes. he's expected to unveil a new plan to try to shut down the prison camp on guantanamo bay cuba. >> chuck todd from the white house tonight. chuck, thanks. >>> there was palpable anger on capitol hill today as several senior officials of the irs were called to testify in thi

during his initial questioning, dzhokhar said he and his brother wat watched internet sermons of anwar al awlaki. he was killed by a drone strike in september of 2011. >>> president obama is set to wrap up his visit to mexico this morning. the president is promoting his push to fix the immigration system, something he says will help both sides of the border. >> i'm optimistic about us getting this done because it's the right thing to do. we have seen leaders from both parties indicate that now is the time to get comprehensive immigration reform done. and part of what we discussed is the importance of getting it done precisely because we do so much business between our two countries. >> the president also addressed the political challenges back home including warnings from senator marco rubio that without significant changes to border security the immigration bill will face a tough climb in congress. >> frankly, we put enormous resources into border security. don't take my word for it. you had folks like senator mccain and senator graham come down to the border and see the progress that's been ma

extremist rhetoric, so they go online and they listen to sermons and they listen to individuals like anwar al-awlaki or adam gadahn or other folks who misinterpret the religion to give it a violent, violent ideology and they fall prey to these individuals who are basically onli predators and they get influenced by these individuals to address their grievances through violence. >> and then what can you do about it? >> i think what we can do, number one, is to ensure that there's a counter narrative, that there's a narrative of life, of positivity, that even if you have a grievance or you have a disagreement on policy, whether domestic or international, you can address those policy grievances through civic and political engagement and change that, maybe not overnight, but eventually you have the power to change policy. >> i know the muslim community has been trying to offer these kinds of counter narratives. has that just not worked, or what do you need to do differently in order to combat this online issue? >> well, i think, you know, i said before, i think to overwhelming extent the american muslim

he is the one who said he wanted anwar al-awlaki.t was the present himself and said he wanted to take him out. he was judge, jury, and prosecution are against this guy who i think did all sorts of bad stuff, but we did not see it in a court of law. take out of the picture for a moment that it is obama. i think that democrats should do this frequently. say it was jeb bush print their not firing at our troops or are involved in an active active terrorism. we do not have to present any evidence. all we have to say is that they die next tuesday. that should be a chilling item. tavis: one thing that gets me, and there is a certain level where i consider this and you cannot, but since you are the expert here, you are the author, you are the documentarian, i want to get your take on this. what troubles me now and certainly into the future, when the historians look back on this moment at how this drone program and how theywire were killing innocents men, women, and children, and there were two who should have known better -- better. one was

al qaeda cleric anwar al-awlaki. the president will also talk about the future of the military prison at guantanamo bay, cuba. the wall street journal is reporting the administration is ready to jump start efforts to close the prison. president obama's pick for commerce secretary. chicagoan penny pritzker begins the confirmation process this morning. pritzker is appearing before the senate's commerce, science and transportation committee. illinois u-s senators dick durbin and mark kirk delivered statements on her behalf. durbin praised her business, entrepreneurial, and civic experience. he also believes she'll be able to boost job growth. my vision is the commerce department will continue to use >> to anticipate what america needs to be, innovative in the 21st century. >> she used to be a member of the chicago board of education. more than 14-hundred delegates from boy scouts of america are voting at a national meeting in texas today- on whether to lift its ban on gay youth membership. the proposal would allow openl