The use of unmanned drones to take out terrorists overseas is one of the few issues that has managed to drive a wedge between President Obama and some of his most staunch supporters. (Code Pink members even hung up their vagina suits in favor of black grim reaper robes to protest.) Revelations that the administration considered Americans on foreign soil valid targets drove even more into fits. So, how about American citizens on American soil? Attorney General Eric Holder told Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who was using John Brennan’s confirmation vote as leverage to elicit more information on the drone program, that the possibility is rare, but not out of the question.
Senate Intel Committee voted 12-3 to confirm John Brennan as CIA director after White House promises to reveal more about killer drones.
— Ken Bazinet (@bazmaniandevil) March 5, 2013
Brennan & Holder tell Sen Rand Paul they have no intention of domestic drone strikes and call scenario "hypothetical."
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 5, 2013
Whatever your comfort level with the war on terror being conducted using unmanned drones, the idea that Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder is involved has to raise even more red flags.
"It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary…" – Holder, caveating
— Jonathan Easley (@JonEasley) March 5, 2013
https://twitter.com/rachel_spirals/status/309045941070077953
Breaking on Hannity..Rand Paul saying he has letter saying Holder won't rule out using drones on Americans on US soil.
— LibertyGirl NoVa (@LibertyGirlNoVa) March 5, 2013
Holder says #drone attacks over US okay. A majority of Americans would disagree. Whats it going to take to stop this Obama crowd? Drones?
— the Duke (@conserv_voices) March 5, 2013
Eric Holder released a statement saying it's OK for the President to drone an American citizen inside the U.S. The Founders weep. #drones
— LeeWeber (@LeeWeber) March 5, 2013
So, what did Holder actually write? In the case of another Pearl Harbor or 9/11, he’d “examine the particular facts and circumstances” while keeping the president’s options open. “For example,” he wrote, ‘the President could conceivably have no choice but to authorize the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland in the circumstances of a catastrophic attack like the ones suffered on December 7, 1941, and September 11, 2001.” In another end left open, Holder’s letter also does not limit “lethal force” to unmanned drones.
Anyone else uneasy after the Obama admins stance on droning citizens on US soil? Arent we protected from things of that nature #ndaa #drones
— Daniel Tisdel (@dailytiz) March 5, 2013
How will Americans, both conservative and liberal, react to this news? Even MSNBC’s Touré announced he was “very comfortable” with the secret drone program, at least as long as Obama and Holder were behind the controls.
And Eric Holder is evil. I warned ya'll http://t.co/CkNL33KGU9
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 5, 2013
#Conservatives and #Liberals will be on the same side when it comes to individual liberty, #NDAA #Drones. We all want freedom and privacy.
— United We Stand (@COCrowe) March 5, 2013
Liberals-"Who really needs those guns, anyway? So what if the govt uses drones on citizens? Stop dissenting, your hate speech is unwanted."
— American Pappy (@sfukj) March 5, 2013
https://twitter.com/Tuffy_Joe/status/309060817746276352
https://twitter.com/d_seaman/status/309063589656944641
Let me get this straight. Obama opposes guns but has no trouble using drones for surveillance and to take out US citizens?
— BefuddledByTheClowns, M.A. (@TXun1965) March 5, 2013
https://twitter.com/Sauce85/status/309066291141017601
https://twitter.com/jasonhaggard/status/309056998689873922
If nothing else, the stark hypothetical scenarios in Holder’s letter might spark new debate on government overreach. Plenty have taken to the streets in the last two months to demonstrate in favor of their Second Amendment rights, while others see gun control as little more than a public health issue. Will Americans #DemandAPlan on drones?
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