Durbin to chair hearing on drones and targeted killings Tuesday

WASHINGTON–Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) chairs a hearing Tuesday on “Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing.”

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Right “will focus on the constitutional and statutory authority for targeted killings; the scope of the battlefield and who can be targeted as a combatant; and establishing a transparent legal framework for the use of drones.”

“Targeted killing raises important legal and policy questions that require a public debate,” Durbin said in a statement. “President Obama has made it clear he wants to work with Congress to establish ‘a legal architecture’ for drone strikes to prevent abuses. My subcommittee will begin this important constitutional debate when we meet tomorrow.”

Witnesses at the hearing will include: General James Cartwright, United States Marine Corp (ret.); Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemeni youth activist and writer; Peter Bergen, Director, National Security Studies Program, New America Foundation; Rosa Brooks, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center; Colonel Martha McSally, United States Air Force (ret.); and Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law.

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