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Wednesday, Feb 6, 2013 10:41 PM UTC

Lindsey Graham’s salute to the targeted killing of American citizens

The dumbest response yet to the Obama administration's targeted killing white paper

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Topics: Politics, Lindsey Graham, Drone strikes, Editor's Picks, National security,

Lindsey Graham's salute to the targeted killing of American citizens (Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed)

In case you felt even slightly conflicted about the Obama administration’s secret legal justifications for carrying out the targeted assassination of American citizens, here is Sen. Lindsey Graham to clear things up for you:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will offer a resolution next week commending President Barack Obama’s use of drones and the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki.

“Every member of Congress needs to get on board,” Graham said. “It’s not fair to the president to let him, leave him out there alone quite frankly. He’s getting hit from libertarians and the left.

And now you know, officially, that it’s awful, because Lindsey Graham is for it. If attention-craving jackasses Lindsey Graham and TV’s Touré agree on something, it’s probably the worst thing.

Even the expansive executive power-worshiping conservatives at the National Review, who are more apt to attack President Obama for coddling terrorists than killing people suspected of terror, think the administration’s assertion that a couple of “high-level” officials can order an American citizen’s execution is a bit much. But Lindsey Graham would like to give the president a Gold Star for Killing Bad Guys, and doing so in a way that makes “libertarians and the left” mad, which just makes Graham even more pleased.

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

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